Hello all,

Today I will talk about one of the more striking embroidery traditions of Central Asia.
These bridal veils are widely found in collections and museums, and the work is extraordinary.
The above example is found in the Museum of the Ethnography of the Peoples of the USSR, or whatever it is called these days, in St. Petersburg .

Tajikistan is now an independent nation in the south of Central Asia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajikistan
Its Capitol is Dushanbe, and this is their flag.

In contrast to most of Central Asia, which is Turkic, The Tajiks are an Iranian people, and their language is a form of Persian. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajiks
They inhabit not only Tajikistan, but parts of the neighboring countries, in particular the north of Afghanistan. The easternmost portion of Tajikistan consists of Кӯҳистони Бадахшон or Gorno Badakhshan, where the people speak the various Pamir languages. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorno-Badakhshan_Autonomous_Region
These extend also into northeastern Afghanistan and Uyguristan in China, which immediately border it.

These veils, while often taken to be emblematic of Tajikistan as a whole, are in fact from only one small district, Darvaz. It is shown in dark red on this map.

Darvaz historically extended into what is now Afghanistan, but I do not know if these veils are also found south of the present border.

This garment featured prominently in the ceremonial procession of the Bride to her new husband's house, and the first viewing of the bride by the family. They were then displayed by the family and used in subsequent generations.

They all have substantially the same general composition. Here is a drawing of another veil. Click to enlarge.

There is a panel towards the upper center of the veil where the threads are bundled with a faggoting stitch to form an area of coarser grid so that the bride may see. Of the above two examples, one has this area plain, and the other has it embroidered. The edge is ornamented with stylized Birds; Peacocks perhaps, or Roosters. A pair of these birds is also placed below the eye holes. The rest of the veil is composed of various rectangular fields with diamonds, suns, crosses and other geometric shapes.

The embroidery is done with a satin stitch which takes a back stitch every few threads, and so is able to make these large figures without being in danger of catching. Here above is a closeup of both the front and the back of this stitch.

There is a hand woven band attached to the upper edge of the veil, usually with tassels attached. Presumably this is to tie the veil around the head, or more likely, a headdress of some sort, perhaps something like this.

This is often missing in collected pieces. I have found no images of a bride actually wearing one of these, but presumably it was worn something like this.

Today in this region the same type of embroidery is used to make curvilinear designs on the women's kamiz, as shown here.

But there is evidence that in the past, the embroidery on the rest of the clothing was more similar to that of the veils.

The use of these veils died out around the beginning of the 20th cent., but they were kept and prized as great examplars of the art of these people. Here are images of other such pieces.

The embroidery on this veil is very similar to the tunic in the drawing above.

These designs are worth admiring in their own right, but they also would make excellent subjects for many other projects. It would be a good thing to bring a bit of old Darvaz into your own homes.

Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative

Roman K.
email: rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:
N. N. Ershov & Z. A. Shirokova, 'Al'bom Odezhdy Tadzhikov', Dushanbe, 1969
Sophia Avizhanskaya, 'Museum of the Ethnography of the Peoples of the USSR', Leningrad, 1990
Tatyana RAzina, 'Folk Art in the Soviet Union', Leningrad, 1990

Hello all,

This is a photo of my friend Jennifer in her Sárköz costume. The region of Sárköz [pronounced sharkeuse] is well known in Hungary for its folk culture, and the costume is quite typical of a large portion of the country.
Sárköz is in south central Hungary, just west of the Danube, in Tolna county, part of the large region of Transdanubia, or Dunántúl.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A1rk%C3%B6z

This map shows the position of this region within Hungary. The main town in the region is Decs.

It is in the southeastern part of Tolna County.

Sarkozi is the adjectival form, and is a common surname in Hungary, and is also the surname of the President of France, whose family, obviously, is Hungarian, and comes from this region.

In the early 19th cent. the wetlands in this region along the Danube were drained, greatly increasing the amount of arable land, which resulted in the peasants of this region becoming well off, which became evident in the local costume.

The chemise is quite full, the sleeves and body being smock-gathered into a neckband. It is traditionally of fine linen. The sleeves are rather short, the cuffs generally being worn above the elbow.

The chemise was originally full length, and later, as in so many other places was cut in half, forming a blouse and underskirt.
The sleeves are made of two full widths of cloth. At first they were joined by decorative stitching, as you can see in the image above.
Sometimes the sleeves were embroidered, as in the following images. Notice that for this piece, the body is made of a cheap calico, and only the sleeves of fine linen.

Later, this stitching and embroidery was replaced by a length of lace inserted into the seam.

A skirt of linen up to 14 yards wide was worn over the chemise. This was densely smock-gathered. Over this were worn three or four white petticoats. Over that was worn a very full colored skirt of printed material or brocade. Commonly a wide patterned ribbon was sewn to the middle of the skirt, or a series of narrow ribbons on the edge, or both. The use of sequined trim is not uncommon. The hem often has a wide facing of a contrasting material. Sometimes two skirts of colored cloth were worn. The hem has slowly become shorter.

Later the fashion changed to a type of blouse with a shoulder yoke and narrow sleeves, as you can see in this photo immediately above. This was rather widespread. These are often made of printed or damask material. Both types are seen today.

The apron is a simple rectangle gathered at the top. In the past it was made of a material which contrasted with the skirt, often silk or velvet. Today it is commonly made of the same material as the skirt. Rows of ornamental ribbon are sewn to the two sides and hem of the apron. The ribbons were sometimes ruched. The same three edges usually also have long silk fringe. I do not believe that aprons from any other region are fringed. Old women wear white linen aprons.

The collar of the chemise is sometimes a simple band, and sometimes is of black cloth with lace gathered into it.
Commonly a necklace of beads strung into a net is worn around the neck, as you can see here above.

Either boots, backless mules or shoes are worn. For everyday and less formal occasions, this completes the costume.

In cooler weather, or for more formal occasions a bodice is worn. This is quite simple, cut rather low in front, comes just to the waist and laces up the front. It may have simple trim ornament. Take another look at Jennifer at the head of the article, and other various images.

For dress, a rich shawl with fringe was worn over the shoulders, when such things became fashionable in the mid 1800's. As the peasants in this area became more affluent, as many as four shawls were worn on top of each other.

For formal occasions, starting when they became confirmed, girls wore a three part complex floral wreath on their heads, as one can see in the second image above, and in the following images. Ribbons may be attached behind.

The image above with the man shows a young married couple. Brides, or perhaps a better translation would be young wives, wore a special coif, fõkötõ. The floral wreath was not worn after the wedding. The special coif was worn for the first few years of marriage and was then put away. Here is an image of several unmarried girls and one young wife on the right.

These coifs were black with a very specific type of embroidery, not used in other regions, and used in Sárköz only for this one garment. These coifs are no longer commonly worn, but very many have been saved, and are regarded as part of the artistic heritage of this region.

The embroidery is in white on a black background, and took the form of two bands, a wide one in front, and a narrow one behind. Sometimes the embroidery was arranged in three groups across the front. Colored ribbons were fastened behind.

It was formerly the custom in Transdanubia to wear a very thin linen veil over the cloth. This was a long narrow rectangle, similar to that which is still part of the folk costume of countries from Lithuania to Romania. This has currently ceased to be part of the Hungarian folk costume except in Kalatoszek in Transylvania, and has even been picked up by the Saxons there. This veil was pinned to the coif with silver pins on each side.

The woman in this last image is not from Sárköz, but from Érsekcsanád in Pest county, where the wearing of the veil lasted the longest. However, you can see how the veil was worn. This veil, called Bíbor, had ends which were embroidered in yet a different technique. This was done in sillk and metallic thread, originally in geometric designs. These ends were arranged so that they were displayed over the front of the bodice or jacket

These soon gave way to colorful curvilinear designs.

With the passing of the Bíbor as a living garment, This style of embroidery was reinvented and adapted for the embroidery of linens, tablecloths, napkins, dresser scarves, etc. This is as distinct a style as any in Hungary, if less well known than those of Kalocsa or the Matyó.

Thus it is clear that Sárköz is a region of great richness in terms of folk art, embroidery and dress. I will close with a few more images.

Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. I would recommend trying any of these embroidery styles on projects in your own life. This is part of the richness of the artistic heritage of the world, and should continue to beautify our lives.

Roman K.

email: rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:

Gyula Ortutay, 'Kleine Ungarische Volkskunde', Budapest, 1963

György Martin, 'Hungarian Folk Dances', New York, 1988

Alice GAboryan, 'Hungarian Folk Costumes', Budapest, 1988

Tamas Hofer, 'Hungarian Peasant Art', Budapest, 1969

Karoly Gink, 'Folk Art and Folk Artists in Hungary', Budapest, 1968

Lengyel György, 'Nagyanyaink Öröksége', Budapest, 1986
Lengyel György, 'Népi Kézimunkák', Budapest, 1978

Hello all,

I was inspired by 'The Man of la Mancha', so I decided to do this costume. It turns out that this is not part of la Mancha, but somewhat to the north and west of it, but I will do it anyway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Mancha
Lagartera is a village in the far west of the Province of Toledo. The name comes from Latin, and means 'place of many lizards'. Here is the Province of Toledo in Spain, within the region of New Castile.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_Spain

Here is the location of Lagartera municipality within Toledo Province.

Lagartera is famous in Spain for the richness of its folk costume and its embroidery, both that used on the costume and the derived designs used on household linens.

The distinct pieces which comprise the Lagartera costume for women are rather numerous: La camisa, la «faisa», la cinta de ceñir, la enagua, la «mandileta», los guardapiés, la faltriquera, el capotillo, la gorguera, el sayuelo, el jubón, el mandil, las medias y las calcetas, los zapatos y las zapatas, los pañuelos y la mantellina.

Chemise, La camisa.

The chemise is made of fine homewoven linen, and comes to the knees with a triangular gusset sewn into the seam on each side at the hem. There are two types, one with relatively narrow sleeves which is worn for everyday or under the jacket, seen at the right above, and one with extremely full sleeves, called camisa de ras, which is for festive occasions and may be seen on the woman above at the left. There is a front opening, closed with a button, which usually comes to the waist. This is typical of traditional garments, and facilitates breast feeding. The chemise is little embroidered, especially the everyday, and even the camisa de ras is only embroidered on the cuffs, los puños, and the collar or neckband, el cabezón. Here is a little girl in a more everyday form of the costume, showing the narrow sleeved camisa.

Here are two examples of the camisa de ras, you can see how the embroidery on the cuffs and neckband match.

Each such sleeve requires a yard and a half of material. They are gathered lengthwise and the folds are secured with 'Galician smocking'. A gusset is inset under the arms.
The 'wedding chemise' is similar to the every day but made of finer materials, it is always worn with the jacket.

La Gorguera

This is a sort of dickey which covers the front and back of the shoulders, similar to the Dutch kraplap. It has an opening for the head, and is secured around the waist with ribbons attached to the corners, as you can see in the photo of the little girl above. The neck opening, front panels and shoulders are heavily embroidered, usually in black, sometimes in white for older women.

Sometimes a second similar garment called el Capotillo is worn underneath this one. The Capotillo is smaller and has the opening in back. Its purpose is simply to cover the front opening of the chemise.

El Sayuelo

This is a type of bodice which is worn over the chemise and the gorguera. It is quite stiff and is laced up the front. A simple version is worn for everyday and under the jacket to provide shape. The more ornamented version is worn with the camisa de ras. This has contrasting pieces sewn onto the front and rear which give the appearance of a second garment. These 'gayas' make the neckline higher in front, and in back form a diamond shape under the joining of the shoulder straps. The entire garment is edged with colorful ribbons and other trim. The front has two tails which tuck under the skirt and apron.

La Faisa y la Cinta de Ceñir
The faisa is a lined rectangle of red woolen cloth which is wrapped around the waist and secured by a ribbon, la cinta de ceñir. This ribbon is usually about three yards long, and may be woven with a design. The purpose of these garments is to accentuate the waist and keep the chemise and other garments from slipping.

La Enagua or Senagua
This is a petticoat. made of linen worn over the chemise and faisa. The everyday one is simply trimmed with a narrow length of lace, the festive is edged with openwork, ribbon, or wider crochet or bobbin lace. It is gathered with tiny folds into a waistband with a drawstring which. It has and opening about 30 cm long.

La Mandileta
This is a small apron measuring half a yard by three quarters. It is of red cloth trimmed with ribbon and tied around the waist. The festive one may have yellow cut out applique designs on the front. The everyday one is plain. The purpose of the mandileta is to block the openings of the petticoats and skirts. It is not visible when fully clothed.

Los Guardapies
This term may be literally translated as 'toe guards', but is the local name for the skirts. They are smock-gathered around the waist as far down as the hips. This causes the top of the skirts to fit closely around the body, and they flare out below that. This forms the unique outline of this costume. Traditionally three skirts are worn on top of each other. The underskirts are of plain cloth, usually wool, and may be red, dark green or navy blue, the topmost skirt may be of percale, flannel, satin or silk, but may only be red, blue, or black. The everyday top skirt is edged with one row of ribbon on the hem, green for the blue or black ones, or black if in mourning, and blue for the red ones. The underskirt may also have one row of ribbon if it is longer than the top skirt and the edge will be seen. The festive top skirt has five rows of ribbon. The lower edge of the smock-gathered area is covered with an embroidered band which is black for the black skirts, light blue for the red or blue skirts and light green for the green skirts.

La Faltriquera
This is a loose pocket which has a waistband that is tied around the waist. It is worn over the skirt and under the apron. It may be trimmed with ribbon but is not usually visible and is not greatly ornamented as in some other regions.

El Mandil
This is the apron. It is smock-gathered in the same way as the skirts and may have a similar band of embroidery over the bottom part of the gathering. It may be as long as the top skirt or somewhat shorter and has a band which ties around the waist. It is edged like the skirts, but with only one or two bands of ribbon, lace, embroidery, trim, etc. Some newer ones have a second pair of ribbons sewn onto the middle, separated from the ones on the edge. There is often a panel sewn over the top of the smock gathered part. The everyday and Sunday versions are often of printed cotton material.

El Jubon or el Jugon
This is a short, fitted jacket. It is always black, although it may be made of various materials. The front is ornamented with ribbon, galloon, and metallic lace. The sleeves are narrow, with cuffs that feature ornamental buttonholes and buttons. It is used in cooler weather and for many more formal occasions.

The back of the jacket and also the back of the skirt have decorative ribbons pinned on that trail and move.

A shoulder shawl is often worn with the jacket today. This may be colored silk, but more often is tulle with ivory embroidery and sequins and trimmed in lace. The ribbons on the back may be pinned over the shawl.

The hair is pulled back into an elongated bun on the upper rear part of the head. If there is insufficient hair a wool pad is incorporated. This gives the distinctive elongated shape to the various kerchiefs and headdresses which are worn. Sometimes, especially for girls, the bun is simply covered with a wide ribbon. Kerchiefs are simply pinned on top of the head, and a simple headdress is also sometimes worn.

Las Calcetas y las Medias.
For everyday wear in warm weather, white stockings, las calcetas, are worn. These may be of cotton or linen, and generally have a knitted in design.
For colder weather and more formal occasions, another pair of stockings, las medias are worn over them. These are of red wool and are plain knitted. They do not have a toe. They have symmetrical designs embroidered on them, consisting of rectangles forming a line up the side with multicolored chain stitch designs branching off of it. There are many designs, but there is a remarkable uniformity to the overall composition.

Various types of shoes are worn, simpler ones for every day and Sunday, of leather with a heel, los Zapatos, [male shoes]. For festive occasions shoes of cloth with no heels and decorated with ribbons, ruffles, lace, etc are worn, las Zapatas, [female shoes]. See the above images.

Los Pañuelos de Hombros
Various shoulder shawls may be worn with this costume. I have already mentioned the Pañuelo de Oro, made of tulle or fine silk with white and gold embroidery which may accompany the formal jacket. A white shawl with lace edging may be worn in colder weather. Commercially produced Manila shawls with typical Chinese-style machine embroidery and long fringe may be worn, as everywhere in Spain. They also wear home embroidered shawls sometimes known as 'Avila Style'. These have shorter fringe, are closed with silver clasps and have a distinctive style of embroidery. This last type of shawl is often worn with a different type of jacket with rather wider sleeves in various colors, sometimes with a ruffled cuff.

La Mantellina
This is a short cape which is worn over the head for going to church and important ceremonies. It is an integral part of the Bridal costume. It may be dark or white, depending on the occasion. This garment is found over much of Spain, and also in parts of Sardinia. It is trimmed with ribbon, cloth applique, galloon, and/or lace, There is a small tassel which helps center the garment on the forehead.

As with other living costumes, there are many rules as to which version of the costume is appropriate for which occasion, down to the color of skirts, how many rows of trim on the skirt, which kerchief is appropriate, etc. There is even a version of the costume which is worn by members of a family in which there is an upcoming wedding to announce the Banns. This is called El Traje del Trapillo.
Since this article is already so long, I will stop here and continue with the men's costume and linen embroidery in another article.
I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.

Roman K.

Some ladies from Lagartera doing a dance. One is in the dickey and bodice, the second is wearing a regular 'Manila' Shawl, the third is in widow's clothing, mostly in black, and the fourth is wearing a locally embroidered shawl over a colored sleeved jacket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bRqQvgbXHA

Here are some links showing the costume and also the local style of embroidery on house linens. I will talk more about these in the next article.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz0ayTq124M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo5HpNdEdoA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17lchXOEsQA

email:rkozakand@aol.comSource Material
M.a Guadalupe Fernández González, 'El Traje Tipico de Lagartera', Toledo, Spain, 1993
Isabel de Palencia, 'The Regional Costumes of Spain', Madrid, 1926
Oscar de la Renta et al, 'Joaquin Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress', New York, 2011
Jose Ortiz Echague, 'Espana, Tipos y Trajes', Madrid, 1953
Manuel Comba, 'Trajes Regionales Espanoles', Madrid, 1977
Cesar Justel, 'Espana, Trajes Regionales', Madrid, 1997
Lilla Fox, 'Folk Costumes of Southern Europe', Boston, 1972
Jose Manuel Gomez-Tabanera, 'Trajes Populares y Costumbres Tradicionales', Madrid, 1950

Hello all,
Today I will continue my article on Lagartera by talking about the different forms of the mens costume and the linen embroidery which is associated with it. The two main forms of the costume which are worn today are shown above, the 'grooms costume' at top, and the more usual festive costume just above. There is also an everyday or working costume which is now little worn.

The shirt is the garment which show the most variation in the different forms of the costume. The everyday work shirt was completely plain, and often a Spanish style smock was worn over it, or replaced it, as we can see here on the right. The man on the left is wearing the normal dress costume.

The boy in this photo is wearing the plain everyday shirt.

The shirt, el Camison, is made of linen with separate fields for the front and the back. There are shoulder insets sewn between the front and back fields on top of the body. The sleeves are set in at the sides, there is a gusset under the arms, and neck and wrist bands are sewn on.
In this form of the shirt, only the neckbands cabezon, the cuffs, punos, and shoulder insets, hombreras, are embroidered.

The embroidery is generally dark yellow or gold, with much openwork, both hemstitching and pulled thread embroidery being used, along with cross stitch, chain stitch, and other stitches. There is usually a band of hemstitching along the adjacent edge of the upper sleeve. The 'bridegroom's' shirt, which is more formal, also has embroidery on the front panel, and decorative joining between the cloth panels.

A vest, Chamarreta, is always worn with the festive costume and sometimes with the everyday, but never with the 'bridegroom's costume'. This was probably originally made of sheepskin, but is now made of heavy wool in a natural cream color. Here is plain version which was worn with the everyday plain shirt.

The front and back are each made of one solid field of cloth. They are sewn together on one side and on one shoulder. The opening is on the other side. They hook together on the shoulder and are held closed by ties on the side under the arm. In the everyday version the neckhole and shoulder opening are bound with plain black cloth, as we see above.
In the festive version the cloth is replaced by one or two rows of colorful ribbon, as you can see here below. This ribbon continues a short distance down the side that opens.

Black wool knickers, el Calzon, are worn with these costumes. The everyday and festive versions have button flies. The 'bridegroom's costume' has a fall front which also closes with bottons. There is a drawstring in a casing around the waist. These are worn over linen pants, Calzoncillos, as is quite common with heavy wool pants around Europe. The bridegroom's calzoncillos are embroidered.

Black wool gaiters, las Calzas, are worn on the lower legs. They are fastened around the leg below the knee, under the knickers. They button down the outside, the more formal ones having 23 buttons each, the everyday somewhat less. A little of the underpants usually shows.

A wide red woolen sash, la Faja is worn with the festive costume but not with the bridegroom's. A scarf, panuelo, like the ones which the women wear on the head may be tucked into the sash.

Black leather shoes are worn.

A jacket, el Sayo, may be worn or omitted with either the festive or the bridegroom's costume. It is of black wool and does not close in front, but is fastened in place with cords that cross in front at the waist. It has short tails or lappets in back which are bound in red for festive occasions.

A round black hat with a wide brim, el, Sombrero is worn, a very practical item in this climate.

And as in many places in Spain, especially in Castile, a full cape may be worn. This has an additional shoulder cape attached, and is a very impressive garment. It is sometimes worn with modern city clothing as an item of formal wear.

Here again is the image from the head of the article. You can see that on holidays, Corpus Christi in particular, elaborately embroidered linens hang on the walls. These have extensive openwork which form designs, and are embroidered in the same techniques and colors as the men's shirts.

Here is more of this work, with some closeups.

This type of embroidery continues in Lagartera today. In addition, highly simplified pieces are also produced and sold as boutique items to tourists and online. These are said to have Lagartera embroidery, and certainly use the same techniques, and are beautiful pieces, but are greatly impoverished in comparison to the original Lagartera embroidery which you can see above. Here are some examples. If you find books on Lagartera embroidery, these are the kinds of designs which they contain.

Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.
I find even the simplified version of Lagartera embroidery to be beautiful and fascinating.

Roman K

Here is one of the websites from which you can buy the Lagartera boutique embroidery.

http://www.todocoleccion.net/buscador.cfm?from=top&Bu=lagartera

Here are some links showing the costume and also the local style of embroidery on house linens. These links were also present in my last article.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz0ayTq124M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo5HpNdEdoA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17lchXOEsQA

email: rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:
'Modelos a Lagartera', N. 751, Ediciones Marcel Lyss
South Australian Embroiderer's Guild, 'Lagartera Embroidery', Bowral NSW, 2003

M.a Guadalupe Fernández González, 'El Traje Tipico de Lagartera', Toledo, Spain, 1993
Florencia Herraez Lozano, H.C. 'Orden i Modo de Vestir el Traje de Lagartera', Toledo, Spain, 2000
Isabel de Palencia, 'The Regional Costumes of Spain', Madrid, 1926
Oscar de la Renta et al, 'Joaquin Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress', New York, 2011
Jose Ortiz Echague, 'Espana, Tipos y Trajes', Madrid, 1953
Manuel Comba, 'Trajes Regionales Espanoles', Madrid, 1977
Cesar Justel, 'Espana, Trajes Regionales', Madrid, 1997
Lilla Fox, 'Folk Costumes of Southern Europe', Boston, 1972
Jose Manuel Gomez-Tabanera, 'Trajes Populares y Costumbres Tradicionales', Madrid, 1950

Hello all,
Today I am going to attempt to give an overview of the Folk Costumes of Spain. Spain is a multilingual and multiethnic State; several distinct languages are spoken, four of which are officially recognized by the State. The image above shows the flags of the traditional regions of Spain, many of which were formerly kingdoms. They are for the most part coterminous with the modern 'Autonomous Communities' Here is a map of the traditional regions followed by one of the current Autonomous Communities, which also shows the provinces into which they are divided.

The main difference is that Castile has been split into three regions; New Castile, which is called 'Castile La Mancha', the city of Madrid, and Old Castile, which has been lumped together with Leon as 'Castile Leon'. Here is a map showing the names of all of the Provinces.

I will proceed region by region, and province by province where appropriate.

Galicia

Galicia has its own federally recognized language, and is quite different in character from the rest of Spain, being mainly of Celtic blood. The language is much closer to Portuguese than to Castillian Spanish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDrll-JPOBo

It is currently divided into four Provinces: Ourense, Lugo, A Coruña, and Pontevedra. I have not been able to discern any distinction in the local costumes, they seem to all be of the same tradition.
Galician costumes are distinguished by a great deal of beadwork in jet, which is locally available. The costume tradition is rich and very elegant.

Pontevedra

Lugo

A Coruña

Ourense

Here is a video of a dance group from Galicia, doing first a Jota, and then what looks a lot like a jig. Very Celtic in both sound and appearance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDrll-JPOBo

More images of Galego Costume

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP-g8PB_W3E

A piece by piece explanation of Galician Costume. I am not sure if it is in Galego or Castillian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwFYRiEEr8M

Asturias

The Asturians have many cultural similarities to the Galicians, also being partly of Celtic origin. In the western edge of Asturias, Galego is spoken, in the rest, the Asturian language, which has some legal protection, but is not recognized by the federal government. Castillian is the official language of Asturias. Asturias is mountainous, and because of its proximity to the ocean, it is moist and green. It is composed of one province only.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asturias

A dance from Asturias

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9djhSeJNLaY

Cantabria

Cantabria is also part of Spain's green zone, being along the Atlantic coast. Some indigenous dialects are still spoken in the western part, but have no legal recognition. The eastern part has long been Castillian speaking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantabria

A dance from Cantabria.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwDuswIlh8k

Euskal Herria - Basque Country

The Basque people have their own very distinctive language, which is one of the four Federally recognized languages of Spain. It is without doubt that the Basque language had an influence on the development of Castillian, and was once more widely spoken than it is today. It is completely unrelated to the other languages of Spain, and predated the Latin language in Iberia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_Country_(autonomous_community)

Although the Basque people have preserved very strongly many aspects of their culture, from cuisine to language to sports, even dance and music, they have not kept, or perhaps never developed a distinctive folk costume, except for the famous beret. The majority of images of Basque costume show very plain work costumes, or ritual costumes. The Basque country of Spain, as small as it is, is divided into three provinces, Bizkaia, Araba, and Gipuzkoa. The Basques also inhabit the north part of Navarre and adjacent regions in France. Here are some images which I have found.

Basque men dancing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bce4f2FI5Aw

Mixed Basque dance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bce4f2FI5Aw

Navarre

Navarre has a very long history as a separate kingdom. It was founded by the tribe Vascones, but later grew to the south and attracted many Romance speaking settlers. There was a native Romance dialect related to Aragonese, but this has died out. At present, the north of Navarre is Basque speaking, the south is Castillian speaking, and the center is mixed. Navarre forms only one province.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navarre

The best known and preserved costume of Navarre is that of Roncal in the northeast. This was originally a Basque speaking area, as is preserved in the names of the costume pieces.

Aezcoa

Salazar

Baztan

Jota from Navarre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERUwTwBRxU0

Parade in Navarre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVmrjD__P48

La Rioja

HIstorically this area was disputed and held at various times by Navarre, Aragon, Castille, and the Basques. Today it is completely Castillian speaking, but was designated a separate Autonomous Community by the government of Spain. It forms a single province. It used to be known as Logroño.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Rioja_(Spain)

Here is a dance from La Rioja.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8nAS41ZgW0

Here is a ritual dance from this region, done on the feast of St Mary Magdalene in the village of Anguiano. It features boys in skirts and on stilts dancing in the streets. This outfit is only worn for this festival. There are many such traditions around Spain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37SlKBxuPwg

Aragon

Aragon was one of the major kingdoms which made up Spain in the course of history. Like Castille and Leon, it made territorial advances to the south during the reconquest of Spain from the Moors. The Aragonese language was similar to that of southern Navarre, which is now extinct, and survives only in the northern mountains of Aragon. In the east there is a narrow strip of territory in which Catalan is spoken. In the center and south of the region, only Castillian is spoken today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aragon

Aragon is made up of three provinces, Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel, from north to south.

Huesca

The most famous costume in Huesca is that of Anso, which lies just over a ridge of mountains from Roncal.

A dance from Anso
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GWVr172qmU

Zaragoza

There are country and city versions of this costume, distinguished by the materials used.

A website where they make Zaragozan costume.
http://www.trajesregionaleslou.es/confeccion-de-trajes-regionales.html

A dance from Zaragoza
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01H6OcQuXoo

Teruel

A dance from Albarracin in Teruel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M37ybsBHt28

Leon

Leon is one of the original kingdoms which made up Spain. It later became somewhat eclipsed by Castille. Today it has been merged with the northern part of Castille to form the Autonomous Community of Castille-Leon. The Leonese language has affinities with Asturian, and likewise has no legal recognition. It has mostly become replaced by Castillian.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3n_(historical_region)

The region of Leon is divided into the provinces of Leon, Zamora and Salamanca, from north to south.

Leon

Festival and dancing in the province of Leon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWP6Lp8FtZ8

Zamora

Aliste

Carbajales de Alba

A dance from Carbajales de Alba in Zamora. There is a rather annoying introduction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKMJnA3wSiA

Salamanca

La Alberca

Calendario

Charro

A dance of the Charro of Salamanca.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXUqIMp2EoQ

Old Castile - Castilla la Vieja

Castile was one of the major kingdoms which made up Spain. Through the course of history the rulers and language of Castile became dominant. The Castillian language is used over most of Spain today. Its exact borders are difficult to define because of merging, annexation and conquest which occured over the course of history. The old capitol of Castile was in Burgos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Castile

Today Old Castile is considered to include the provinces of Burgos, Soria, Segovia, Avila, Palencia and Valladolid.

Burgos

Dances from Burgos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNX-vIIT5_I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETWEHQRbmvs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETWEHQRbmvs

Soria

Dances from Soria.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d24PnkaWuvw

Palencia

Dance from Palencia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKLLd2zNYD0

Valladolid

Segovia

Street dance in Segovia. The last couple is in full Segovian dress, the next girl in the yellow skirt is in Avila costume. The rest in some sort of dance group costume.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoHilmVrch8

Dance from Segovia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr4S74y3wzc

Avila

TV story about a performing group from Avila.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chy7_osajKY

Group from Avila dancing in a simpler costume.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dYA_pGPMZg

This is enough for one article. I will continue the southern part of Spain in my next article.
Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.

Roman K.

email:rkozakand@aol.com

Hello all,
today I will continue my overview of the costumes of Spain. There is less variety of costume in the south, as they have been more recently reconquered.

Madrid

This covers not only the capitol city but the surrounding province. The most commonly used costume is a simplification of the Flamenco costume of Andalusia, but a couple more are also used.

Goya

New Castile - Castilla la Nueva

This region is often considered to be the heart of Spain. It includes the location of the famous adventures of Don Quixote, 'Lord of la Mancha'. It consists of the provinces of Guadalajara, Toledo, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, and currently also Albacete, which was formerly part of Murcia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castilla-La_Mancha

Guadalajara

Cuenca

A dance from Cuenca.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYkkW_JWQms

Ciudad Real

A dance from Ciudad Real
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrC2KozBwNY

Toledo

The most famous costume of this province is that of Lagartera

Albacete

Extremadura

This region is little known outside of Spain but is very rich in costumes and folk culture. There is an indigenous language known as Extremaduran which is spoken by some hundreds of thousands of people in the western fringe of the territory. This language is endangered. Fala, a language related to Portuguese and Galego is spoken in the valley of Jalama. It is quite vigorous and commonly used within its territory. There are also a handful of municipalities along the border which speak various dialects of Portuguese. This region is divided into two provinces.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremadura

Caceres

A dance from Caceres
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut4ZiNxcJRw

The most famous costume of this province is that of Montehermoso.

A dance from Montehermoso

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JKUjIo-3Lc

Cabezabellosa

Malpartida

Campuzo

Trujillo

Torrejoncillo

Badajoz

Castuera

Serena

Don Benito

A dance from Don Benito
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-X9mJRhNbk

Olivenza [disputed with Portugal]

A dance from Olivenza
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmShTdtVo3g

Andalusia

Andalusia is in many ways the least typical Spanish region, as it was the last to rejoin Spain in the process of reconquering. On the other hand, much of its culture is often taken to be absolutely emblematic of Spain as a whole, being the land of flamenco and the center of bullfighting. Nowhere is this more true than of folk costume, compare flamenco dress to that of the rest of Spain. The name is often said to be Arabic, but that is somewhat misleading, as the name 'Al Andalus' in Arabic means 'land of the Vandals', hearkening back to the name of one of the original tribes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andalusia

Traje de Gitana, or Flamenco dress.

This is considered to be especially emblematic of Seville, but has come to symbolize all of Andalusia, and indeed, all of Spain. In fact, as you have likely noticed in the course of perusing this article, it is not at all typical. This costume, like flamenco music and dance itself, was borrowed from the Romany [Gypsies, or Gitani] who live in Andalusia. On the other hand, the Romany do not dress like this anywhere else.

In some modern interpretations of flamenco dress, the upper part of the skirt has been tightened to the dimensions of the sheath dress of the 1950's. Im sorry, but I think this looks cheap.

A video of Flamenco being perfomed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhfV_53W7A

The male equivalent was the 'traje de majo'.

This has developed into the contemporary dress of the Torero.

A video showing you how to put on the traje de Torero.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUQzNSs6EF4

Andalusia is divided into 8 provinces, 4 each in upper and lower Andalusia.

Lower Andalusia

Seville

A dance from Seville.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPPvIct3xa8

Huelva

In Huelva, they wear the same costume as in Seville, but there is also a very distinct costume in the town of Pueblo de Guzman, which is called Gabacha, which means 'foreign'. It resembles one of the costumes of the Canary Islands.

A holiday parade in Puebla de Guzman. You can see women wearing both costumes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzABKXiNg78

A similar costume is worn in the village of Alosno.

Cadiz

Dances from Cadiz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJsgDBnblsY

Cordoba

In Cordoba, they wear the same flamenco type costume as in Seville. The broad brimmed hat worn by the men in lower Andalusia is called the Sombrero de Cordoba.

In addition, the women sometimes wear a riding costume based on the men's costume but with a skirt.

Upper Andalusia

This is the eastern half of Andalusia, and the costumes change somewhat. Notice that the Cordoban hat for men is replaced by a different one. This is especially true of the two eastern provinces, Jaen and Almerilla, which have costumes that approach those of La Mancha and Murcia.

Málaga

In Malaga they do wear the flamenco or gitana costume, but they also have three distinct local costumes. The plainest is called Marenga. This basically consists of white shirt or blouse, red sash or belt, and black pants or skirt.

The second is called Verdiales, which is worn by people performing in the spring festival of that name. These are stage costumes and vary quite a bit.

The third and dressiest is the Rondeña costume.

Folk festivals and dances from Malaga. Dancing starts at the 630 mark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StLHpgm-f7Y

Granada

In the eastern part of Andalusia, the costumes change somewhat.

A program of music, history, and dance from Granada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAx0kbuFt44

Jaen

A dance from Jaen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOp5L8a7Nno

Almeria

Here are some of the typical costumes of Almeria, showing affinities to both the La Mancha and Murcia costumes.

Mojacar

Alcolea

Refajona

A dance from Refajona

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwboFHZPvks

Murcia

This region is not well known, but has some fascinating culture. It currently consists of one province only.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Region_of_Murcia

Notable in this region, as in some other parts of the south, are the wide short linen or cotton trousers of the men. The women's skirts are wide and colorful, and made in several styles.

The city of Murcia itself has a very elegant and rich costume based on silks and brocades which recalls that of Valencia, its neighbor to the north.

A dance from Murcia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmqKvtU4KaA

Valencia

Valencia lies on the east coast of Spain. Most of this region speaks a dialect of Catalonian, But in some of the inland areas they speak Castillian. Catalonian is the fourth federally recognized language of Spain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencian_Community

The costume of Valencia is especially striking, and does not vary all that much between the three provinces. The image below shows the costumes, from left to right, of Castellon, Valencia and Alicante.

Alicante

The costume of Alicante is distinguished by the dressing of the hair, which includes a ruffled lace veil. In other respects it is much like the costume of the rest of this region.

A dance from Alicante
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXiRDOK9aUM

Valencia

The standard Valencian costume includes the dressing of the hair into a bun on each side, as well as another in the rear, each of which is topped by a decorative comb.

A performance of dances from Valencia. The dancers are in costumes from the country, rather than the city costumes shown above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dabmikA4jg

Castellón

The costume of Castellon is somewhat more sober, and the dressing of the hair is somewhat different, the coils of the hair at the sides not found here.

Catalonia - Catalunya

This is the home of the Catalonian language, which is also spoken in Valencia, Andorra, the Balearic Islands and Rousillon in France. One valley in the far northwest of Catalonia speaks Occitan. Catalonia had a very long history as an independent Principality. It is divided into four provinces; Tarragona, Lleida, Barcelona and Girona.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia

This is the costume which is generally associated with Catalonia as whole. Notice the distinctive hat worn by the men.

Tarragona

A dance perfomance from Tarragona

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nOkPYf_q2Y

Lleida

Barcelona

A dance performance in Barcelona.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCdX_MJo3gU

Girona

The Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands belonged to various empires through history and once formed their own kingdom and only relatively recently passed under the control of Spain. They speak their own dialect of Catalan. There are four main islands: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera, as well as many smaller ones. The islands form one province.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balearic_Islands

Majorca or Mallorca

A dance performance on Mallorca.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOSbjfKDod0

Minorca or Menorca

A dance from Minorca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzltZfyPL04

Ibiza and Formentera

These two islands seem to share the same costume.

Dance from Ibiza
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYUQ7mS5OuA

Another video of Ibiza dance. One cannot see the dance well because of the crappy camerawork, but there are good quality closeups of costume details.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_StNFDH9JJU

Images of the folklore of Formentera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq_sDgh5Ymc

The Canary Islands

The name comes originally from Latin and means the islands of the dogs. This is also the original home of the bird called the canary. It was named after the islands. The islands are located off the coast of Morocco and the Spanish Sahara. The original inhabitants were called Guanches, and were probably of Berber stock. Little remains of the original language, and the current inhabitants speak a dialect of Castillian, which came with colonists from Spain who assimilated the indigenous people. On the island of la Gomera, there is still a whistled language which came from the original inhabitants.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Islands

There are seven main islands which are grouped into two provinces. The eastern group forms the province of Las Palmas, and consists of the islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, and Gran Canaria, and the western group forms the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and consists of the islands of La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera and Tenerife.

Las Palmas

The Nestor costume

This costume was designed in 1934 by the artist Néstor Martín Fernandez de La Torre. This is an artistic version of the costume of Gran Canaria, with much embroidery and needlework. It has been embraced by the inhabitants of the Canary Islands as an expression of their identity.

Dance from the Canaries in the Nestor costume.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I36YiMFd-Tg

Photos of the Nestor costume
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krTzOiPFCsc

Gran Canaria

A dance from Gran Canaria.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAZ-k5itmuI

Fuertaventura

Music and dance from Fuertaventura.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6DuVRHYKcI

Lanzarote

A dance from Lanzarote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6FlpglOUAE

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

El Hierro

A distinctive feature of the costume of el Hierro are the oversleeves which the women wear on their forearms.

El Vivo, a dance game from el Hierro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMRSAZTzFTI

Another dance from el Hierro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plzqHzl3bwQ

La Gomera

The best known costume of this island features the blue skirt. More recently these are adorned with white floral embroidery.

La Palma

The best known costume of La Palma features black cross stitch embroidery on the petticoats for the women and on the shirts for the men.

A dance from La Palma, La Caringa. The women have their petticoats tucked up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASLcAgaXdpQ

Tenerife

Video; how to put on the costume of Tenerife.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMqd6tn5GZA

A dance of Tenerife
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQpJc5ox4fQ

Here is a video of singing and dancing on Tenerife.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2tXMOqS8_I

Thank you for reading,
I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.
The costumes of Spain are amazingly rich and diverse.

This ended up being much longer than i had anticipated.

Roman K.

Hello all,

Today I will attempt to give an overview of the costumes of France. France was divided into traditional provinces before the revolution. These are shown in color in the map above. Afterwards the nation was divided into administrative districts, called Departements, of roughly the same size, which were grouped into 27 Regions. These are shown by the fine and bold lines on the map above. A quick glance will show that they do not always correspond. The map below names the contemporary Regions and Departements.

I will attempt to present the folk costumes according to the old Provinces, as they more closely present regions of traditional culture.
France is, like most nations, multiethnic and multilingual. The five corners of the nation have territories in which unrelated languages are spoken. German in Alsace, Dutch in French Flanders, Breton in Brittany, Basque in the Basque country, and Catalonian in Rousillon. The Corsican language is also distinct. In the main part of the country various Romance dialects were traditionally spoken, which linguists and tradition group into three languages. In the north, the Langues d'oïl, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langues_d%27o%C3%AFl
these dialects are various forms of the language which we today call French.
In the east, Arpitan, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Proven%C3%A7al_language
and in the south, the Langues d'oc, or Occitan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occitan_language
On the following map, French dialects are shown in shades of green, Arpitan dialects in shades of blue, and Occitan dialects in shades of red. Other languages are shown in violet or lavender.

This article will cover roughly the territory of the Langues d'oil, with the exception of Aunis and Saintonge. I will proceed roughly from north to south. Some Provinces have much more material as regards costume than others.
Many of the costumes are quite similar, the largest differences being in the coifs and other headdresses, which show an amazing variety.

Flanders

Flanders refers to the Dutch speaking northern part of Belgium. Some of this territory was ceded to France centuries ago, and There are still about 20,000 people in French Flanders who speak Flemish. This area lies on the Belgian border.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Flanders

The ladies of the town of Dunkirk are called Bazennes, and have a distinct costume

A dance from French Flanders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83hqRBo-zv8

Artois

Artois lies in the north, inland from the coast and just south of French Flanders. It is also a small province.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_of_Artois

Picardie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picardy

One of the most distinctive costumes of Picardie is that of the Pas de Calais, in particular the town of Boulogne sur mer. This is the area along the coast. Currently it has been separated from Picardie and combined with the provinces of Artois and Flandre to form the departement of Nord-Pas de Calais.

Boulogne sur Mer

A parade with street dancing in Boulogne.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTUybiCsnWA

A few images from other parts of Picardie.

Amiens

Neuville

North Picardie

Normandy

The costumes of Normandy are very famous for their elaborate and large lace and linen headdresses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy

A dance from Normandy, showing one of the many famous coifs found in this region.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTcFTT731nA

Brittany

This region is extremely rich in costumes, more than any other. The people are Celtic, and still speak a language related to Welsh and Cornish in the western part, Lower Brittany. In the eastern part, Upper Brittany, this has long been replaced by the Romance dialect of Gallo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittany

I have already done an overview of the Costumes of Brittany. Here are just a handful of examples.
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2012/03/overview-of-costumes-and-embroidery-of.html

Bigouden

Kemper

Pont Aven

Rennes

Guerande

A line dance, Fisel, from Brittany.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGF8IwhojRA

Île-de-France

This is the heart of France, and the modern French Language. This province includes Paris and has long been a world leader of fashion. Because of that, there is little that is remembered of the folk costume.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Ele-de-France

Champagne

This is, of course, the province which is responsible for the classic sparkling wine. In fact, if it does not come from this province, it is not really champagne. As in several other provinces, a high lacy headdress is worn in one of the costumes here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne_(historical_province)

A traditional dance group from Reims in Champagne.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdMmH0HIDfY

Lorraine

This province, like its neighbor Alsace, was contested for a very long time between France and Germany. The north of this province is traditionally German [Allemanic] speaking, while the south spoke dialects related to French. It has been an integral part of France for over a century now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_(duchy)

A dance from Lorraine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIpKXSx6pCk

Alsace

The population of Alsace is overwhelmingly of German origin, but it has been an integral part of France since before the revolution. The traditional language is Allemanic German, but this has been losing ground in the face of the draconian measures instituted by the French government to extinguish minority languages in their country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace

I have already done an overview of the costumes of Alsace, but here are a few representative images.
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2013/09/overview-of-costumes-of-alsace-or-elsass.html
Oberseebach

Strasburg [Protestant]

Kochersberg [Catholic]

Meistratzheim, lower Alsace

Upper Alsace

A dance from the Strasburg area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxajjW29sOA

Franche-Comté

This means the free county of Burgundy. This province was separated from Burgundy proper in the 15th cent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franche-Comt%C3%A9

The costumes of Franche Compte are not well known. One notable costume is that of Montbeliard. Notice the coif embroidered with beads.

Besancon

Brussey

A tour of the costume museum of Franche Comte. This includes city and historic costume. Folk costumes start about 2/3 of the way through.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2wXFzAVKrQ

Burgundy

The Dukes of Burgundy were major players in the history of Medieval Europe. They controlled much territory in many far flung places. These are the borders of Burgundy at the time of the French Revolution. Burgundy is, of course, also the home of one of the wold's most famous wines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Burgundy

Here are some notable costumes of Burgundy.

Morvan

A bouree from Morvan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C865X0H7pA

Bresse
I have already done an article on this costume.
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2015/02/costume-of-bresse-and-macon-france.html

Video of a historical fair in Bresse. Many costumes are shown. The formal costume shown above shows up at the 12 minute mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTb_Ox8TIvk

Macon

A dance from Macon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ooc6-ncInM

Nivernais

This was a small province, and today forms just one departement. The costume of this area is not well known.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nivernais

A festival in Nivernais. A medieval group and a Polish group from Rzeszow are also taking part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gOOxABF_UA

Bourbonnais

This was a small province. It is part of the French heartland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbonnais

This province has a distinct costume, about which I have already done an article. It is symbolized by the famous chapeaux a deux bonjours.

http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2013/08/costume-of-bourbonnais-france.html

A dance from Bourbonnais.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbn1Lz3k-wo

Berry

Berry lies at the heart of France both geographically and culturally. It is one center of the famous French dance, the bourree.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berry_(province)

The costumes of Berry are those of plain country people, perhaps the most typical of all France.

A couple of dances from Berry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi3eUTIhGl0

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jalol72cMMY

Orléanais

This was the province around the city of Orleans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orl%C3%A9anais

Maine

This province was long caught between the powers of Normandy and Anjou. The costume heritage of this province seems to be poor. If anyone has more information please let me know. Here is some of the little which I have found, most of it from Sarthe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_(province)

Anjou

This province has a long history, with many turns and twists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anjou

The coif of Anjou has a very distinct form.

Two very short clips of dances from Anjou.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxqt4KepuLE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZKKXXb7okE

Touraine

This province took its name from a local Gallic tribe called the Turones. It has been split between 3 different departements since the revolution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touraine

The costumes are rather simple, but there is a distinctive coif in this region called the tourangelle which have beautiful embroidery.

A visit to a museum of embroidered coifs in Touraine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hgxbCa225U

Poitou

This province is known for fierce independence and resistance to the central government. They have long maintained a strong sense of local identity. This is also the original homeland of the people who became the Cajuns. Echoes of the Poitou dialect still live in the Cajun language.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poitou

Poitou was naturally divided into two parts, Upper Poitou and Lower Poitou. Lower Poitou was staunchly Catholic, while upper Poitou was dominated by Huguenots. In modern times the two have been divided, Upper Poitou being joined with Charents to the south, and Lower Poitou was joined with Anjou, Maine and part of Brittany to form a new region known as Pays de la Loire. This gives you some hint of how confusing it can be to research the history of French costume. This is one the richer provinces in terms of costumes and coifs.

Lower Poitou or Le Vendée

As in upper Poitou, there are a variety of costumes, and especially of coifs. I will concentrate on the two most famous costumes of this area.

Le Marais is a marshy area in the south of this area . The inhabitants are known as Maraichains. They have a particularly elegant costume. The men's costume includes a sharp short jacket. The women's apron does not pin to the front, but actually passes over the head.

Here we see that the modern fad of the white wedding dress has penetrated into this costume.

Sables d'Olonne is the main port in this province. There is a unique costume associated with this town, and particularly with those who live near the ocean. The coif is unique, with lacy points.and is worn with a very short skirt. This would be practical for those who often wade in the ocean to do their work.

Like the costume of Bigouden in Brittany, however, this costume continued to develop in the 20th cent. The skirt became even shorter, the petticoat and apron were lost, the skirt became pleated, satins and silks came to be used, and the coif developed a high three sided lace point. This is one of the most famous costumes in France today.

A dance from Sables d'Ollone. The costumes are of the old form, with modern materials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKtqATJylQg

Upper Poitou

This is the inland part of Poitou, being physically at a greater elevation. It consists, more or less, of the modern departements of Deux Sevres and Vienne.

In Vienne:
Loudun

Neuville de Poitou

In Deux Sevres

Mothe Saint Herayes

Thouars

Niort

The coif of this area, called grisette, resembles those of further south, in Aunis and Saintonge. I will continue with those costumes in my next article.

Dances from Upper Poitou.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtjaoWLNU7A

This ends part one. Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.

Roman K

email: rkozakand@aol.com

This is a continuation of my last article.

France was divided into traditional provinces before the revolution. These are shown in color in the map above. Afterwards the nation was divided into administrative districts, called Departements, of roughly the same size, which were grouped into 27 Regions. These are shown by the fine and bold lines on the map above. A quick glance will show that they do not always correspond. The map below names the contemporary Regions and Departements.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_France

This article will cover roughly the territory of the Langues d'Oc and Arpitan, with the exception of Bresse. Aunis and Saintonge will be included int this article. I will proceed roughly from north to south. Some Provinces have much more material as regards costume than others.

Many of the costumes are quite similar, the largest differences being in the coifs and other headdresses, which show an amazing variety.

Aunis

This province, together with Saintonge, forms the current departement of Charentes Maritimes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunis

In this province there are many coifs used. Poitou and Charentes are incredibly rich in different coifs. One of the major ones in Aunis is called the Capot Marandais. This consists of a triangular headpiece, and lace pieces which wrap around it, Similar to the Grisette of Niort.

This type is called la Rochelle.

But others are worn in the same region.

The most spectacular version of the coif is part of the traditional bridal wear of the Ile de Re.

Saintonge

This is an old province well known for its pottery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saintonge

The island of Oleron.

One famous version of the capot marandaise which is worn here is known as the ballon.

Other types of headpieces were also worn in this province.

This hat was worn with work clothing, as a protection against sun and weather.

This is called the coiffette.

A quadrille in 5 figures from Saintonge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXLCr28UdoM

Angoumois

The most famous part of this province is the region of Cognac, which, of course, is known for its fine brandy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angoumois

The ballon and other coifs were worn here, but one of the distinctive coifs of this area is called le champanais, which was worn in the region around the town of Cognac.

La Marche

This province was once an independent county, that is, a region ruled by a Count.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_of_La_Marche

The small straw hat with velvet ribbons is typical for this province, although similar to those found in parts of Auvergne.

A song from La Marche.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J-oQ5HyHd8&list=PL45275B9145B796B9

Limousin

The large luxury vehicle is named after this province. Originally the driver sat under an open roof, or hood, which supposedly resembled the headpiece of this region. Such are the vagaries of language.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Limousin

The distinctive coif of this region is called the barbichet. It is found only in this province.

A song from Limousin. The choir is in the local costume.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_E5nAONYKA&index=6&list=PL71A052E80A660C44

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_E5nAONYKA

Auvergne

Auvergne was the territory of the Gallic tribe of the Arverni. Under the leadership of the famous Vercingetorix, they won significant battles against Caesar in his attempt to conquer Gaul. The people of this region continue to take pride in their identity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auvergne_(province)

Auvergne is a region which has kept much of its traditional culture, including music and dance.

A bourree from Auvergne. This group is wearing a variety of costumes from around the province.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0j9dTBJWWE

Lyonnais

Savoie

Savoy was an independent Duchy for many centuries and was only incorporated into France after the Revolution. It has very strong local traditions in many ways.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoy

Savoy is currently divided into two departements, Savoie and Haute-Savoie, or Upper Savoy. The costumes of this region are very rich, especially in the southern part. This region lies in the French Alps

Haute Savoie

Annecy is the capitol of Upper Savoy and lies in the west part of the departement.

A traditional wedding in Annecy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0BawsntShs
Chablais lies in the northeast of Upper Savoy, next to the present Swiss border. This costume is from the Morzine valley.

Grand Bornand lies in the central part of this area, on the Borne river. Note the hand embroidered shawls.

Val Montjoie is in southeast Upper Savoy. The mountains to its south block access to Savoy proper.

Some dances from Upper Savoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjKHUfHQkt0

Savoie
This area is extremely rich in folk costumes, and I have already done a series of articles about the costumes of this area.
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2012/03/costumes-of-savoy-or-savoie.html

The north and west form what is known as Savoie Propre, or Savoy Proper.

Val d'Arly
This river valley is in the north, on the border with Upper Savoy.

A dance from the Arly valley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXij9FtbrYw

Chambery
This is the capitol of Savoie, and little is remembered of its costume tradition.

The following are two long, large and isolated mountain valleys with extremely rich costume traditions.

Tarentaise
This costume is often used to represent all of Savoy. I have one article just on this valley.
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2012/04/costume-of-tarentaise-savoy-or-savoie.html

A dance from Tarentaise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDaMn7iSZyY

A video showing silk and embroidered shawls from Upper Tarentaise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOWjq9Xlav0

Maurienne
Many villages in this valley have their own costume. I have written three articles about it.
Upper Maurienne
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2012/04/costume-of-upper-maurienne-savoy-france.html

Dances from Orelle, in Upper Maurienne.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrCGN22SPN0

Montaimont and Villards Valley
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2012/04/costumes-montaimont-and-villards-valley.html

Arvan valley. These are very famous and distinctive costumes. I have also written an article about these.
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2012/04/costume-of-arvan-valley-savoy-france.html

Music and images from up and down the Maurienne valley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p40QWD-Q0W4

Here is an example of why one should be wary of artist's renditions of costumes.

The artist has this woman wearing the headpiece of Tarentaise, which would indeed be worn in Bourg St Maurice, but also the skirt of the Arvan valley, and the rest of the costume of Montaimont. All the pieces are from Savoy, but such an ensemble has never been worn by anyone. Be skeptical and verify.

Dauphiné

This province is named after the dolphin on the coat of arms of the Counts of Albon who ruled this area until it was annexed by the kingdom of France in 1349. Since that time, the heir to the French throne was referred to as 'Le Dauphin', and was nominally the ruler of this County.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauphin%C3%A9

Gresivaudan

Brianconnais

Queyras.

Nice

Nice is today the embodiment of the French Riviera, but it was never part of the Kingdom of France, being joined to France only in1860. This province completely surrounds the Principality of Monaco.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nice

The traditional language of this area is Occitan, and the costume in the hinterlands was similar to that of Provence. But one costume in particular has become a symbol of Nice itself, and is also worn in Monaco as their Traditional Costume.

Dances from Nice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSVL4zbstCc

Provence

This province, like so many others, was an independant County until it was annexed by France in 1481.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provence

The people of Provence speak their own dialect of Occitan, called Provencal. The costume does not vary much by locality, although there are some differences between Upper and Lower Provence. There is more distinction between the costumes of the three social classes: Paysanne, Artisane, and Bastidane. The area around Arles has a distinct costume.
I have written an article about Provencal costume.
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2011/08/joans-provencal-costume.html

Upper Provence

Lower Provence

Paysanne

Artisanne

Bastidanne.
This costume is basically the same as that of the Artisanne, but made of finer and more expensive materials.

A dance group out of Aix en Provence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwqRAYvXncg

The city of Marseille has encroached upon the village of Chateau Gombert, which has a somewhat distinct costume, featuring a unique coif in both small and large variants.

Arles

This city lies in the west of the province, near the mouth of the Rhone river and the Camargue.
This costume is very distinct, and comes in several variants. I have already done an article detailing this costume, and its variations.
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2012/07/womans-costume-of-arles-provence-france.html

The Farandole of Arles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnT7Z0DN0ag

Languedoc

This is an ill-defined term, having several meanings. It may refer to the language of the south of France, or its eastern variant. The borders shown here are those at the time of the Revolution. This was originally the independent County of Toulouse, but already under the Kingdom of France the provinces of Quercy and Rouerge had been removed from it, causing the large bight that one can see in the northern border. After the revolution, the capitol, Toulouse, and its region, was removed from Languedoc, and Rousillon was added to it. All of this was to divide the territory and try to reduce the fiercely independent character of the Languedoc people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languedoc

The northeast of Languedoc forms a distinct region, being rather mountainous, and consists of the following three former provinces of Toulouse.

Province of Vivarais, the current departement of Ardeche.

Province of Velay, the central and eastern parts of the current departement of Haute-Loire. There were a variety of coifs worn in this area.

Province of Gevaudan, the current departement of Lozere.

Lower Languedoc
This is the low lying area along the coast. There is not much remembered of the folk costume in this area, but here are some images from the community of Agde, in the departement of Herault.

Toulouse
This was the capitol of Languedoc, on the higher ground of the northwest. Today it has been separated from Languedoc, and put into the region of Midi-Pyrenees.

A group from Toulouse performing dances from the region.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY_UDxcvlnc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOgupgTFr4Y

Rousillon or Rosselló

This province is the northernmost part of Catalonia. It was ceded to the French crown in 1659. The Catalan language is spoken here, and the people feel more connected to the rest of Catalonia in Andorra and Spain than they do to Paris.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roussillon

The costume, like the people is the one typical of Catalonia. The first and last images show people doing the Catalonian national dance, the Sardana.

A group from Rousillon performing Catalonian dances.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noJEH5oBMZ8

Guyenne and Gascony [Aquitaine]

This is the largest of the traditional provinces of France, and is made up of some very dissimilar regions. Some parts in the east were traditionally part of the County of Toulouse, namely Quercy and Rouergue. Of the remaining area, Guyenne was in the north and east, and Gascony in the south and west. Much of this area was part of the Duchy of Aquitaine, which played a major role in the history of both France and England. In all of this area various dialects of Occitan are spoken, except for the Basque region.

Guyenne

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guyenne
This map shows Guyenne just before the Revolution with the modern Departements in color and the traditional regional names in Italics.

Rouergue

or the present departement of Aveyron. This is the easternmost area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouergue

Bouree from Rouergue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbnhNv7-FS8&list=PLYqJX48Kua-UwqIkwrZsaLFfPModbZyaa

A street dance in Rouergue [Averyron].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSh4QfJNFPoQuercy
or the present department of Lot and the northern half of Tarn et Garonne.This is west of Rouergue but still north of Languedoc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercy

A dance from Quercy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djw4c1VxQW0

Perigorde
This was in the north of Guyenne, just west of Quercy, equivalent to the modern departement of Dordogne.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9rigord

A series of videos on the costume and dance of Perigorde.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ApWss6LEMk&list=PLiu8ONGsANs9NSLpos49pXSHHgP467xVr

Agenais

This is south of Perigorde. The costume is also found slightly further south in Gascogne, around the area of Casteljaloux.

Bordelais

Gascogne

Again, the modern departements are shown in color on this map. The term Gascogne comes from the same root as the word Basque. The people of this region originally spoke a language similar to Basque, but in recent centuries spoke Occitan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gascony

In Gers and the lowland north of Gascony the costume is rather uniform.

Dance from Gascogne.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPoDZQH9pJU

Songs from Gascogne. Sung in Occitan with French subtitles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8xZh5WiwfI

Landes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landes_forest
This is the area along the coast, extending inland for quite a ways. Today most is pine forest on sandy land, but in the past, much of this region was wetland, which led to the inhabitants developing the habit of walking on stilts to get around.

Dances from les Landes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVI4Tp2rg_4

Pyrenees

This region was never a province; in fact it was divided between several duchies and counties. Nevertheless, the costumes have a certain similarity. Some of the most interesting and colorful costumes of France are found in the mountain valleys of the Pyrenees. I will proceed from west to east.

Basque Country

The northwesternmost part of the Basque country lies in France. This consists of the three provinces of Lapurdi, Lower Navarre, and Zuberoa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Basque_Country
There are a couple of unique costumes to this area.
This is from Zuberoa.

This is from Lower Navarre

Some other Basque costumes from this area resemble those used over all of the Basque country.

This is the famous Basque dance Maskarada from Zuberoa. It requires men in specific costumes which are as traditional as those of the Bromley Horn dance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9fs6FjoN_c

A dance group from Biarritz performing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH2g1EclPuU

Béarn

This was once an independent County, and was later joined with the County of Foix. The entire area speaks Bearnaise, a dialect of Occitan, except for the village of Eskiula, which speaks Basque.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9arn

The best known costume of this area is from the Ossau valley.

A line dance from Ossau.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NqSMRGWtss

Bigorre

This former County is found to the east of Bearn, and is again part of Gascogne, The costume is similar to that of Bearn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigorre

A dance from Bagneres de Bigorre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu7CQcZQzvU

Campan

This is in the northeast of Bigorre.

A stage presentation of a wedding in Campan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZhMLNTqgHo

Comminges

This is also a former County, found to the east of Bigorre.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comminges

A series of short videos showing dances and songs from Comminges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1qq1PM8gQ8

Couserans

Another former County, this area was later joined with the County of Foix to make the current departement of Arieges.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couserans
The costume of the valley of Bethmale is possiblly the most colorful and interesting in all of France.

A group of Bethmalais performing songs [in Occitan] and dances at a folk festival in Poland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihY7keRkqsU

Foix

This province was another which was formerly an independent County. It was very small, and at a certain point the Count of Foix became also the Count of Bearn, and removed his residence there. It currently forms the eastern half of the departement of Ariege.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County_of_Foix

Massat
This community has retained an interesting costume.

A festival with ceremonies and dancing in Massat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VszGMreDSh0

Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and Informative.
I admit that this took me longer than I thought it would.

Roman K.

rkozakand@aol.com

Hello all,
Today I will try to cover all of Norway. Norway has many beautiful costumes, and the folk costume culture is alive and well. The scene above, showing five different costumes is not unusual for festivals. There is a government body which is concerned with the quality and authenticity of costumes, Those costumes which are approved by this body are known as bunads, those which for one reason or another do not, are called drakt. Costumes are readily available in Norway, there are many businesses which make them. These are called Husflid. They are, however, expensive, as the Norwegians believe in paying a living wage to people who do things like embroider or weave by hand. For every one of these costumes, whether bunad or drakt, there is at least one sewing house, or husflid, which specializes in making it.

Norway has a long history, even though for several centuries it was ruled by Denmark.
Norway has only two minority peoples, the Saami and the Kven. The Saami, also known as the Lapps, inhabit all of northern Scandinavia, and speak several languages which are related to each other, but unrelated to Norwegian. The Kven were settlers from Finland in the 18th and 19th cent. Very few of them today still speak the Kven language.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway

The Norwegian language is made up of quite a few mostly mutually intelligible dialects, with a strong distinction between east and west. Norwegian is unique in having two literary norms,
Bokmål and Nynorsk. The first means 'book language', and is used by most people, even though it is heavily influenced by Danish. The latter was an attempt to make a more purely Norwegian literary standard, and is more popular in the west. Both are recognized by the government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_language

The map above shows the Norwegian provinces, and I will consider them one by one, starting in the southeast, treating the capitol area, and then the eastern provinces north to south, and continuing around the coast. This is the traditional order of presentation. Some of the Norwegian costumes represent living traditions, however many of them are reconstructions, or designed from the ground up. I will not show every costume, as that would be too much to cover, but I will show the major variants from each province.

Oslo

Oslo is a province as well as a city.Oslo, like many cities around Norway has its own drakt, specially designed for the purpose.
Here we see the first example of the most popular cut for bunads. This is basically the Gudbrandsdal festive bunad with embroidered made over with different colors and embroidery. This has been done over and over again in many places. This has come to be understood as the classic Norwegian costume cut.

The gray band set above the hem features realistic embroidery of Norwegian wildflowers, and the pocket is embroidered with the figure of St. Halvard, patron of the city.

Here is another drakt which was designed for the 1000 yr jubillee of the city, which features a more urban look. Notice the subtle damask design on the women's jacket.

Sørkedalen
This is an agricultural valley outside of the city, but still within the northwest part of the Oslo municipality . This is another remake of the Gudgrandsdal festbunad.

Østfold

This lies between Oslo and Sweden, on the east bank of the Oslo fiord.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98stfold

The most common bunads are those which are considered to belong to the province as a whole, as they were reconstructed from pieces found all over the province.

The proximity to Sweden is evident in the most common men's costume, particularly in the cloth for the vest and the cut of the long coat.

As often happens, the embroidery on the bunad was taken from one old piece found in someone's attic. This the variety of embroidery used is very limited.

The most common women's bunad, designed in 1936 comes in green and red variants.

The embroidery on the shoulder shawl also has two variants.

Another bunad was designed in the 1960's.

A popular and attractive costume from this area is the Løkendrakt, designed in 1946. Another example of a remade Gudbrandsdal festbunad.

One local costume which has achieved the status of bunad is that of Mysen and Eidsberg.

Vestfold

Vestfold lies on the west bank of the Oslo fiord. This is the smallest province by area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestfold

This is also only one region. The bunads are used over the entire province.
There are two types of the man's bunad. The first one comes with either a black jacket and red vest or red jacket and gold vest.

This is sometimes worn with natural color leather knickers instead of black wool.

The second is called the 'blue jacket' bunad. It is mostly black, with long pants and a brocade vest in blue and dark red.

Several bunads have been designed for women. The earliest is the 1932 model. This has woven ribbon trim around the bodice and on the hem of the skirt, and an embroidered pocket, but no apron. It is made in a couple of different colors.

The 1956 model is similar, but adds more color options and features a woven apron.

This apron is based on an old photograph from about 1890.

There are two more common versions of the Vestfold woman's bunad. This one is called the brocade bodice bunad. It features an embroidered linen apron, which was copied from one made in the early 19th cent. The embroidery on the pocket is different.

The linen apron is also worn with the other bunad.

The last of the common variants is the velvet bodice bunad. This features a dark apron, and a bodice of a different cut.

All of the above bunads were based on actual found materials. There is another bunad which was designed in the 1930's as a 'free composition'. This is much less commonly seen but features embroidery on the dress, which everyone wants.

Segerbrandt-Bunad

This comes in black, blue, and white, with rosemahl type embroidery. Another example of a remade Gudbrandsdal festbunad.

Akershus

Akershus surrounds Oslo except on the northwest. This is a very densely populated area, including as it does some of the suburbs of Oslo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akershus

This is the first province in which we encounter different districts, as can be seen on the map.

Akerdrakt

This can be worn by anyone in the province, but especially those in urban areas near Oslo.

Baerum

There is one Baerum bunad which comes in a variety of colors and choice of aprons. Plaids are common in Folk costumes all over north Europe, they are not restricted to Scotland.

Asker

The above is the festive bunad, there is also a winter bunad.

and a summer bunad.

The men wear embroidered braces under their vests.

Follo

There are currently two costumes from Follo.
The Follobunad

This features a linen apron with white openwork embroidery and rococo embroidery on white on the damask skirt, pocket and cap of blue or red.

Follo Festdrakt
This is a less expensive alternative now available based on brocades rather than embroidery.

Romerike

The men's bunad.

The Romerike women's festive bunad comes in three colors, blue, green and red.
It also comes in three models which vary in type of bodice and embroidery. The three models, believe it or not, are called L40, L46, and L55. The unique Romerike embroidery was taken from an old horse blanket. The apron may be of the same embroidered wool or may be of printed linen.

L40

This features a bodice which is the same color wool as the skirt and pocket. The bodice is cut straight at the waist and seems to be connected with the skirt.

L46
This features a separate bodice with a peplum, the cut of which is copied from an old bodice found in the area. The embroidery, while similar, is distinct if you look carefully, both on the skirt and on the pocket.

Here we see the two side by side.

L55

This model features yet different, although still similar embroidery, and a bodice with a straight cut that is made of damask.

Romerike also has an everyday bunad for both men and women.

There are two municipalities in the north of Romerike which have their own local bunads. Both are of the modified Gudbrandsdal festbunad type.

Hurdal Bunad

Eidsvoll Bunad

Hedmark

This province is found to the north of Akershus, and is one of only two landlocked provinces in Norway. It is very rural still. This is a much larger province than the ones we covered previously.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedmark

This area mostly did not wear folk costumes within living memory at the beginning of the folk movement in the early 20th cent., but there were historical records and paintings which showed the costumes. Thus the reconstructions are more historical than in the provinces to the south. There are three traditional districts: Hedmarken, Solør-Odal, and Østerdal. This last is the largest and is shown on the map above as three sub districts, south, north, and east.

Hedmarken

This is a district within Hedmark province.

The man's bunad for Hedmarken

Here are the most recent reconstructed women's bunads for Hedmark. They greatly resemble the common bunads for Solør-Odal and Østerdalen.

Here is the 'traditional' bunad from Hedmarken. In the first image we see, from left to right, the 1935 model, the1955 model, and the 1985 model.

Here is the distinct bunad from Vallset in the south of Hedmarken.

Solør-Odal

This district is in the south of the province of Hedmark, south of Hedmarken. The man's bunad is similar to that worn in Østerdal and Gudbrandsdal. The woman's has a unique bodice with scalloped peplum and fine leather edging. The bunad may be made from various different types of cloth, which is also true of the Østerdal bunad.

This district also has an embroidered bunad in the Gudbrandsdal cut, designed in 1940. Hulda Garborg was part of the committee that designed this bunad.

This is the everyday bunad of the area.

In the east of this district is the municipality of Grue, which includes an area known as Finnskogen, because there was in the 17th century a large group of Finns who settled there. They have to some extent kept their traditions and culture to this day. This drakt is a reconstruction from old photographs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnskogen

Østerdal

This is the largest district in Hedmark. According to costumes, it can be divided into south, north and east subregions.

The man's bunad of this area has two forms, the older, which resembles that of Hedmarken and Gudbrandsdal is reminiscent of lumberjack dress, with a plaid wool vest and hat with a bill, and the newer reconstruction which is more urban in character.

Here is an old print which is one of the main sources for the reconstruction of the bunads of this district.

Marie Aaen Bunad

One of the first bunads designed to represent this district was by Marie Aaens, from Tynset in the north. She won a contest with this design in 1947. It definitely is quite attractive, and she paid attention to the traditions of the area, note the bodice with peplum and the plaid apron.compare to the image above. She also added some very attractive embroidery, taken from rosemahling [folk painting] of the area. It remains popular today. The bodice and skirt may be in black with green trim or in green with black trim.

Another bunad to be used over all of Østerdal is less well known but has a very similar history.This one was designed by Ruth Arnestad Lødrup.

Lødrup Bunad

South Østerdal

Østerdal is the largest district in this province, and has several divisions, and bunads for each.

This is the bunad for the south part, shown on the map above. Note the similarity to the reconstructed Hedmarken bunad above. Since this is based on multiple museum pieces, there are a variety of possible fabrics for the bunad. One can wear a shirt and bodice, or a jacket. The most commonly used apron has a woven in leaf design. The blouses do not have cuffs or collars, but do feature white openwork.

South Østerdaln also has an everyday bunad.

North Østerdal

This is similar to the south Østerdal bunad, but has a plaid apron, an embroidered pocket and differs in other small details. The men's bunad is the same

There are other bunads and drakts for specific areas in Østerdal.

Here is one from the eastern part.

Trysil Bunad

The rest of these are all from specific areas in the north of Østerdal. The original costume traditions lasted longest in the north.Each of these three areas have two bunads.

Alvdal Bunad

Alvdal Bunad with embroidery

Folldal Bunad

Folldal Bunad with plaid skirt.

Kvikne Bunad

Kvikne Bunad with embroidery, or Kvikne Church Bunad

This has exceptionally nice embroidery.

It looks like my article on Norway will turn into a series of four articles.

This is enough for one.

Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this interesting and informative.

rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:

Bjorn Sverre hol Haugen, 'Norsk Bunadleksikon' Oslo, 2009
Kjersti Skavhaug et al, 'Norwegian Bunads', Oslo, 1991
Heidi Fossnes, 'Norges Bunader og Samiske Folkedrakter', Oslo, 1993
Ellen Scheel et al, 'Bunad-Brodering', Oslo, 1997

Hello all,

This is the second part of my overview of the costumes of Norway. This will cover the central row of provinces in Eastern Norway, the yellow and orange ones on the map below, minus the ones I covered in the first article. This includes the provinces of Oppland, Buskerud, Telemark, and East and West Agder. All of these have at least some areas in which folk costumes were a living tradition or within living memory at the beginning of the 20th cent.

Norway has a government body which is concerned with the quality and authenticity of costumes, Those costumes which are approved by this body are known as bunads, those which for one reason or another do not are called drakt. Costumes are readily available in Norway, there are many businesses which make them. These are called Husflid. They are, however, expensive, as the Norwegians believe in paying a living wage to people who do things like embroider or weave by hand. For every one of these costumes, whether bunad or drakt, there is at least one sewing house, or husflid, which specializes in making it.

So let us continue.

Oppland

This is divided into the three districts of Vestoppland, Gudbrandsdal, and Valdres. The image at the top of the article is one of the bunads from Gudbrandsdal which has never gone out of usage, the Rondestakken.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppland

Vestoppland

One of the costumes which represent this region was designed by the noted artist Alf Lundeby in 1932. The Lundeby costume comes in black, blue, or white. It remains very popular.

Lundeby Drakt

Vestoppland Bunad

This was designed in 1937 from pieces found in different parts of Vestoppland.

The next three costumes each represent a part of Vestoppland.

Hadeland Bunad

Hadeland is the southern part of Vestoppland, around Randsfjord.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadeland

The Hadeland Bunad is an accurate reconstruction of the local dress in the mid 1800s. It was made in plaids of different colors. Plaids are common in several neighboring districts as well. Girls wore a pale cap, married women a black one. The cap had a lace ruffle, similar to that in some Danish costumes. Like with all bunads, an underskirt must be worn.

Toten is in the east central part of Vestoppland.

Toten drakt

This design was finalized in 1971, based on pieces of costume found in this area.

Land, or Nordre Land, is in the northern part of Vestoppland.

Landingsdrakt

Work on the costume started in 1927 and was finalized in 1980. The embroidery was taken from an old shawl found in Hadeland.

Gudbrandsdal

Gudbrandsdal is a valley which extends from Lillehammer to the northwest.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gudbrand_Valley

The men wear a red wool plaid vest, or, for more formal occasions, a brocade vest may be worn. Sometimes an older form of frock coat may be worn as well. This is shown in the second image.

Rondastakken or Livkjol

This bunad is part of a living tradition in the valley. It is not designed or reconstructed.The most recent version is called rondastakken, which means 'striped skirt'. These were made with homewoven cloth, striped for the skirt, and plaid for the attached bodice. Livkjol means 'bodice skirt' and refers to the construction. Other types of cloth were also used in the past, and these have now come back into use.

It was known that in the early 1800's it was the fashion to wear embroidered skirts. Some of these skirts have been preserved in museums. Embroidery from these skirts were copied onto wool and used to make a livkjol with an embroidered skirt. This was the origin of the Gudbrandsdal Bunad. The original skirt for this embroidery was from Lom.

The same embroidery was used in the 1920s to make the Gudbrandsdal Formal bunad. The bodice was also made of wook most often of the same color and also received embroidery, as did the pocket. An apron with matching embroidery was also sometimes worn. This became very popular and was the origin of the Embroidered Bunad type which was copied in so many places around Norway with different embroidery patterns, several of which we have already seen.

Another designed bunad used embroidery from a skirt found at the Graffer Farm. This is called the Graffer Bunad and remains very popular today.

Jorde Bunad

This was designed by Maria Jorde from Bøverdal in Lom.

Other similar bunads represent particular parts of Gudbrandsdal.

Lesja Bunad or Rutastakk

Gausdals Bunad

Dovre Bunad

Lillehammer Bunad.

This comes in blue with multicolored embroidery, or green or red with monochromatic gold embroidery of the same design.

Valdres

This valley lies in the southern part of Oppland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdres

Rutastakken

This is the Valdres equivalent of the Rondestakken of Gudbrandsdal. In this bunad, the skirt as well as the bodice is plaid, of many kinds. The matching mens costume also features a plaid wool vest and a black jacket. This was common in the second half of the 19th cent.

Valdres has two livkjol type embroidered bunads.

The 'Old' Valdres Bunad

This was designed in 1914.

The 'New' Valdres Bunad

This was designed in 1948.

The South. or lower Valdres Bunad

Upper Valdres Bunad, or Bringedukdrakt

This has been established as the bunad for Upper Valdres, namely Vang and Slidre. The second term refers to the stomacher or plastron which is inserted into the bodice. This was typical for the first half of the 19th cent. The everyday costume is plain blue.

Buskerud

Buskerud borders on Oslo on the southeast, but also extends up into two major mountain valleys, Hallingdal and Nemedal. These border Valdres, Telemark and Hordaland, all areas in which the costume tradition is strong. There are also smaller distinct areas in central Buskerud, Ringerike in the north, and the coherent costume region of Siggdal-Eggedal-Krødsherad in the center. The lowland areas lost their costume tradition early, but the high mountain valleys were still wearing their traditional costumes at the beginning of the 20th century when the bunad movement began.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buskerud

Ringerike

This is just downstream from Valdres in the same valley. In the past it was an independent fief.
It extends south to the province of Oslo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringerike_(traditional_district)

There is both a local drakt and an embroidered bunad.

Ådal is a valley in the municipality of Ringerike
They have their own embroidered bunad, designed in 1938

Hønefoss

This bunad was designed in 1954

Lower Buskerud

This is shown in light blue on the map with the exception of Ringerike. In these low lying areas close to the capitol, the bunads are designed or recreated. There is an embroidered bunad which was designed in 1939 for all of Lower Buskerud: Eiker, Lier, Drammen, Modum, Hurum, Sandsvaer and Røyken. Some of these also have their own bunads or drakten.

Hurum Bunad

This was a free composition in 1994

Røyken drakt

A free composition in 1992

Lier Bunad

This was a free composition completed in 1974

Modum drakt

Eiker drakt

Kongsberg drakt

Hallingdal

This is one of the most famous valleys of Norway for costume, embroidery and folklore. These three valleys have distinct costumes, but they intergrade from one to the other. I have written an article on Hallingdal already. I may have to update it, as I have learned more since I wrote it.
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2012/06/bunad-and-rosemaling-embroidery-of.html
This is an area where the local costume is well remembered, and there are many examples to be found around the valley.

Upper Hallingdal

This consists of the municipalities of Hol and Ål.

This man is in a Rogaland Bunad, not Hallingdal

The upper Hallingdal bunad is noted for its embroidery, an extremely short bodice, black apron for the dress bunad, and quite complex headdresses for both married women and single girls, as seen in the last two images above.
Hulda Garborg, who was so instrumental in reviving interest in Norwegian folk costumes in the early 20th cent. thought that it was important to make the costumes modern and easy to wear. She took this costume and simplified it. Perhaps the biggest change is that she replaced the headdress with a simple embroidered cap similar to that worn in Lower Hallingdal. This simplified bunad became very popular, and many people mistakenly believe it to be the authentic Upper Hallingdal bunad. Here are some examples.

Lower Hallingal

This consists of the municipalities of Hemsedal, Gol, and Nes.
The costumes are quite similar to that of Upper Hallingdal, but they traditionally wore the cap, they used a flowered or plaid apron for the formal costume, and there are other minor differences. They sometimes wore a kerchief tied around the cap, as is the custom in mid Buskerud.

There are two mens bunads, one is rather plain black, and the other is highly embroidered. The second is very popular with men all over Norway who want a colorful embroidered bunad.

The everyday bunad from Hallingdal is also well remembered and still worn. It has no apron and is black or plaid.

Mid Buskerud
This consists of Sigdal - Eggedal, Krødsherad, and sometimes Flå.

Flå

This municipality is technically in Lower Hallingdal, but the costume is perhaps closer to the Mid Buskerud costume.

Sigdal - Eggedal, Krødsherad

Numedal

This lies over the mountains south of Hallingdal, and is north of Telemark.

Mans bunad

There are three. The gray jacket is used all over the valley, but there are also two different black bunads for Lower and upper Numedal

Gray Jacket

Lower Numedal mens bunad with round jacket

Upper Numedal mens bunad with short jacket.

Lower Numedal, Flesberg

Upper Numedal

There is also an embroidered bunad which was designed for Numedal in 1938.

Telemark

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemark

Telemark is perhaps the richest province in Norway as regards costumes. The costumes were a living tradition well into the 20th cent. There are many examples of different embroideries and cuts. However, many of these reflect individual variations and different time periods. There are only three costume districts in Telemark: East Telemark, West Telemark and Tinn. This map also separates the coastal area. This was distinct culturally, but did not keep much in the way of costume. I have written a series of articles on Telemark already.
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2014/05/beltestakk-and-gratrje-costumes-of-east.html
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2014/05/gratrje-costume-of-east-telemark-norway.html
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2014/05/east-telemark-norway-embroidered-shirts.html
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2014/05/east-telemark-norway-socks-and-shoes.html
http://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2012/06/costume-and-rosemaling-embroidery-of.html

Tinn

Mens Bunad

Omslagsliv

The embroidered bands which cross over the shoulders were originally suspenders which held up the skirt. The bodice was attached to the second underskirt. The embroidery is often done freehand, and there is much individual variation.

Skjaelingskleda

This is an older costume from the early 1800s which shows the influence of neighboring Numedal.

East Telemark

Mans bunad with gray jacket
This is the most common version. It comes from the same period as the beltestakk.

Stakk og Liv

This means skirt and bodice. It is the most recent and simplest form of the East Telemark folk costume which was in use into the 1970s.

Beltestakk

This is an older form of the costume which was revived. It has a great deal of ornament in the form of ribbon, but has embroidery only on the shirt. The skirt is exceptionally full, which makes it fun to dance in. Because of the lack of embroidery, it is fairly inexpensive and very popular today. It is named after the very wide card woven sash which is an integral part of this costume.

Raudtroje

This means red jacket and is the common embroidered form of the East Telemark Bunad. It is based on an even older form of the folk costume.

West Telemark

The costume and embroidery tradition is just as rich in West Telemark. The various costume types are associated with different periods of history. The older, more elaborately embroidered forms were used as the basis for the modern bunad.

Raudsaumsbunad

This is the most recent form of the costume, this came into being around 1910. This was thought at the time to be stylishly modern. It reintroduced the old embroidery on the bodice.

Fløyesliv

This bunad was in use roughly from 1895 to 1915 or so. It is distinguished by the embroidered bib attached to the front of the bodice. The apron was sometimes embroidered.

Rundtroje

This is the most recent living form of the mans bunad in plain black. It matches the two womens bunads above.

Bringeklutbunad and Gray Jacket bunad

These were worn in the early to mid 1800s by women and men, respectively. Relatively recently they have been reconstructed and begun to be worn again.

Vest Telemark bunad

The most popular bunad today is the elaborately embroidered one which was worn even earlier, roughly from 1750 to 1850.

Drangedal

This is a coastal area. To my knowledge this is the only coastal costume to be reconstructed in Telemark.

Agder

In ancient times this was a petty kingdom, The name is so old that the meaning of it has been lost. Today it is divided into two provinces, West Agder and East Agder. This is the southernmost point of Norway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agder

This area is small, and I am surprised that It was divided in two. It is sometimes referred to as the southland. It includes Setesdal in which the folk costume is a living tradition, and coastal areas which have revived theirs. You will notice part of the coast is depicted in white with the heading 'unspecified'.

Setesdal

This district holds much the same position in Norway that Andalusia does in Spain. The costume is iconic for the country, but is not at all typical.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setesdal

The everyday costume for the women is a white jumper with black bands on the hem. The men wear a sort of overall.

For Sundays and feast days, a second black jumper with bands of red and green on the hem was worn over this. The men put on an embroidered vest with either a fancy knitted sweater or short embroidered jacket.

Åmli

The bunad was reconstructed from old costume pieces in 1926. There are various kerchiefs and aprons preserved with different embroidery designs.

Iveland

This began to be reconstructed in 1917. This bunad may be worn with a variety of embroidered pockets, many of which are to be found. Very similar pockets are also worn in West Agder.

West Agder

There is only one bunad for most of West Agder. The striped skirt is worn by unmarried girls or by married women on regular days. On feastdays married women wear a finely pleated black skirt. The colorful high headdress was worn by married women. Girls wore a lower one which was much less ornamented. The skirt was held up by buttoning it to woven straps which hang from the bodice. Shawls with various embroidery patterns were also worn. As in Iveland, the embroidery on the pockets varied quite a bit.

Sirdal

This is the northernmost valley of Vest Agder

There is also an Agderdrakt which is a free composition for all of Agder. It features several local wildflowers. I have only seen one photo of it.

This concludes part 2.
Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. I hope that some of you might be inspired to try some of the incredible embroidery which is found in this area.

email: rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:
Bjorn Sverre hol Haugen, 'Norsk Bunadleksikon' Oslo, 2009
Kjersti Skavhaug et al, 'Norwegian Bunads', Oslo, 1991
Heidi Fossnes, 'Norges Bunader og Samiske Folkedrakter', Oslo, 1993
Ellen Scheel et al, 'Bunad-Brodering', Oslo, 1997
Janice Stewart, 'The Folk Arts of Norway', University of Wisconsin, 1953
Guvnor Traetteberg, 'Folk Costumes of Norway', Oslo, 1966, 1976
Thorbjorg Ugland, 'A Sampler of Norway's Folk Costumes', Oslo, 1996

Laila Duran, 'Scandinavian Folklore vol I - III', Sweden, 2011-2013

Hello all,

Part three of this overview is forthcoming. I was asked about the costumes of Trondelag, and so I wrote this one first.

This is the fourth part of my overview of Norwegian Costumes. This will cover all of Norway from Trondelag north. Here Norway starts to overlap Sapmi, commonly called Lappland. I will not be covering the Saami costumes of Norway, as I have already written about them. They are a completely separate costume tradition, and it makes no sense to separate the part which is in Norway from the rest of Sapmi, which lies in Sweden, Finland, and Russia. While Trondheim is an old Norse city, Norwegian settlement becomes more recent the further north you go, and the costume tradition becomes very thin. The Norwegians are not indigenous to the north in the same way as they are to the south.

The National Bunad Council Bunad- og Folkedraktrådet , the authority on national costumes appointed by the government, has developed five categories to grade modern day bunads according to ‘authentic’ regional folk clothing:

Category 1 – a bunad that represents a ‘final’ link’ in the development of a folk costume. This is basically an original folk costume that has taken on the function of a bunad.

Category 2 – a bunad that has a background in a particular folk costume that is out of use but not forgotten. It is generally reconstructed from first-hand knowledge. Actual old garments exist.

Category 3 – a bunad that has been reconstructed from preserved folk garments which reflect the actual time and region of the piece. Pictures and writings are used as sources in reconstruction.

Category 4 – a bunad that has been made based on random and incomplete folk material. Missing pieces have been designed to match the style of the materials.

Category 5 – a bunad that has been completely or partially ‘freely composed’. It was the 1800s bunad movement that has given these types of bunad their status.

New ‘bunads’ that are being designed every year, must go through the strict judgement process of the National Bunad Council in order to be classified as a proper ‘bunad’. The council is very strict in making sure new additions follow closely the traditions and history of the area. Because of this, many designs today, even though they have the same function as a bunad, generally don’t make the cut and thus can not be called ‘bunads’. They receive the name drakt.

Costumes are readily available in Norway, there are many businesses which make them. These are called Husflid. They are, however, expensive, as the Norwegians believe in paying a living wage to people who do things like embroider or weave by hand. For every one of these costumes, whether bunad or drakt, there is at least one sewing house, or husflid, which specializes in making it.

All of the costumes from the north are either designed or reconstructed, with the single exception of the Røros region, where the costume tradition was still within living memory at the beginning of the 20th cent. The girls at the top of this article are in Røros costume.

Trøndelag

This area is centered around the city of Trondheim. It is currently split into two provinces.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%B8ndelag

There is a bunad which was designed for all of Trøndelag. cat. 4
Work on designing the costume started in 1920. It was based on various pieces which were found around the region. As it was intended to cover a large area, more variation was incorporated than was usual at that time. A couple of different aprons are used, and the colors were traditionally either blue, green or red. There is now a black and gold variant, and I have seen a photo of one in rust. Old photographs show a greater variety of material used. A veil may be worn over the cap.

South Trøndelag

South Trondelag has the richest costume tradition of any of the provinces which we will cover today. The map, like the one of Agder, shows white areas signifying unspecified costume traditions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8r-Tr%C3%B8ndelag

The city of Trondheim has a drakt which was designed for it. It has not been approved as a bunad. cat 5

No comment.

Røros

This is a mining area, and the southern edge of Sapmi. The costumes can be made in a wide variety of colors and fabrics. The girl's costume is distinct from that of married women. They still wear a jacket as part of the formal bunad. There are three regions in this district, Røros itself, Haltdalen and Tydal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B8ros

Røros

cat 2

Folk dance from Roros, the pols.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGBSxeNNcxo

There is an embroidered bunad which was designed for this area, called the Bergstadbunad. It features embroidery of some of the local wildflowers.

cat.5

Haltdalen

This costume is very similar to that of Roros. cat 4

Tydal

This is part of the Roros district, the bunad is somewhat distinct, but still similar. cat 4

Selbu

This costume features embroidered caps, pockets and shawls. The bodice and vest are of block printed cloth. cat 3

Gauldal

cat 4 mens bunad only

Oppdal

cat 4

Rennebu and Meldal

men cat 3

Rennebu Womens bunad

cat 4

Meldal Womens bunad

cat 4

Orkdal

cat 3

Orkdalsdrakt

This is a designed embroidered costume for Orkdal

cat 5

Orkladalen

This is another reconstructed bunad for the three previous districts of Sennebu, Meldal and Orkdal, which formed the ancient kingdom of Orkladalen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkdalen

Hitra

This is an island near the south border of South Trondelag. This drakt is based on an old drawing.

cat 4

Fosen

Fosen lies north of the Trondheim fjord, and has land borders only with North Trondelag, but is jurisdictionally part of South Trondelag. The bunad is very similar to that of North Trondelag. It features a quilted skirt, and seems to be based at least in part on the drawing just above.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fosen

cat 3

North Trøndelag

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord-Tr%C3%B8ndelag

This area is much less populated than South Trondelag. There are only three bunads and a couple of drakts from this province.

North Trondelag embroidered bunad. Also called the Floan bunad.
This was put together in 1938. It seems to feature four different possible embroidery patterns.
cat 4

North Trondelag reconstructed bunad. This represents the 1700s.
This was presented in 1992.
cat 3

Namdalen
Namdalen is close to the coast, next to Fosen. This bunad was designed in 1950.
women 4, men 3

Leksvik
Leksvik is on the north bank of the Tronderfjord across from Trondheim. This drakt was designed in 1992 and features embroidery of wildflowers. There are 4 variants.
cat 5

Mosvik
Mosvik is next to Leksvik, just up the fjord. This drakt is a free composition.
cat 5

Overhalla
Overhalla is further north, just past Namdalen. The embroidery on this drakt was taken from a bridal skirt found in the area.
cat 5

Nordland
The climate here is remarkably temperate, with some of the few temperate rain forests that can be found in Europe. The fisheries are exceptionally rich.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordland

The Nordland bunad comes in inland and coastal variants, green and blue, respectively. The embroidery and cut come from garments found in Vefsn. It was designed in 1928
cat 5

The Mens bunad is also used in Troms
cat 4

Vega
This is a group of islands in the south of Nordland. This drakt was a free composition in 1995.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega,_Norway

Hamarøy

This municipality is in the north of Nordland. This bunad was designed in 1939.
women cat 4, men cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamar%C3%B8y

Ofoten
Ofoten is a district in the northeast corner of Nordland. The bunad was based on several garments from the area, including an embroidered apron which was found in Canada. The floral embroidery on the apron was added by the designers. The design was finished in 1989.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofoten

Lofoten
Lofoten is a district in the north of Nordland, consisting of a peninsula and a large group of islands. The bunad was designed in 1942
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lofoten

Troms
This province lies completely north of the Arctic Circle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troms

Troms bunad
This features the weaving tradition of the area. It was designed in 1967
cat 4

Troms Festdrakt
This was a free composition based on the folk embroidery of Troms.
cat 5

The rest of the costumes of this province are connected to particular districts. There are a remarkable number of small communities which have designed their own costumes.

Bardu and Målselv

These two districts are in the southeast of Troms. They were first settled by Norwegians in 1788. The Saami call the area Bearddu. Since many of the early settlers came from Gudbrandsdal, it was decided to model the bunad for this area on the Gudbrandsdal bunad. The design of the bunad was finished in the 1960s.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardu

Balsfjord
This municipality lies just north of Malselv. It is a fertile region that lies between two fjords. This bunad was finished in 1979. It features a cap for girls and a kerchief for married women.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balsfjord

Malangen
This was a former municipality centered around the Malangen fjord, which lies between Balsfjord and Lenvik. The territory has since been divided among neighboring districts.
The drakt was designed to represent the culture and nature of the area, including a stylized letter M.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malangen

Lenvik
Lenvik district is west of Balsfjord, split between the mainland and the island of Senja. The drakt was composed in 1981 and aggressively features dandelions in its embroidery and silver jewelry.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenvik

Senja
Senja is an island off the southern coast of Troms, it is split between four municipalities, one of which is Lenvik. The drakt was designed in 1978 and the style of the 70s is evident. It features either a brown bodice or a red one.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senja

Tromsø
This is the next municipality north along the coast, including the city of Tromsø and the island of Tromsøya along with other islands and a big chunk of the coastline. The drakt features embroided Queen Anne's Lace.
cat 5

Karlsøy
This is the next municipality as we continue north along the coast. It is made up of islands.
My sources disagree whether this is a bunad or a festdrakt. It features naturalistic floral embroidery. It comes in blue or red.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karls%C3%B8y

Helgøy
This is a former municipality which is currently incorporated into Karlsoy. The actual village of Helgoy is no longer inhabited. The drakt features embroidery of one specific plant, the Northern Dock, Rumex longifolius. I do not know why this plant was considered significant. The design was completed in 2000.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helg%C3%B8y

Skjervøy
This is the next municipality as you continue north. It also consists of a group of islands. This costume was designed by Dagmar Haugberg. My sources disagree as to whether this is a bunad or a drakt.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skjerv%C3%B8y

Lyngen
This municipality lies on a peninsula to the south of Skjervoy. This drakt was designed in 1985.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyngen

This image shows the Nordland bunad on the left, and the Lyngen festdrakt on the right.

Kåfjord

This municipality lies east of Lyngen on the mainland. The bunad was a free composition which took its inspiration from the natural richness of the area.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A1ivuotna%E2%80%93K%C3%A5fjord

Nordreisa
This district lies northeast of Kafjord.The costume, called a bygdedrakt, is an attempt to reconstruct the historical clothing of the area.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordreisa

Kvaenangen
This district lies at the northeast end of Troms, next to Finnmark. The name means Kven Fjord. Most people in this area now consider themselves to be Norwegian, although the majority are of Saami or Kven ancestry. The bunad was a free composition in 1996.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kv%C3%A6nangen

Kven
The Kven are an ethnic minority in Troms and Finnmark, as well as adjacent parts of Sweden. They are descended from Finnish settlers who came to the area in the 18th and 19th cent. Their drakt reflects their Finnish heritage. Some of them still speak their distinctive dialect.

In this image, a Kven couple poses with a family in the Nordreisa bygdedrakt.

Finnmark
This is the largest and least populated province of Norway. In the interior, the Saami are the majority, while on the islands, the Norwegians are. The fjord areas are mixed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnmark

Finnmark has several Saami costumes which are very much alive, but there is only one Norwegian bunad and two drakts for this area.

Finnmark bunad
This bunad was designed in 1967. There was little native material to go on, but the hat was traditional. Notice the pendant which is attached to the bodice.
cat 5

Finnmark Festdrakt
This is a free composition based on the sewing traditions of Finnmark.
cat 5

Vardø
This municipality is the furthest east in Norway.This drakt was designed to symbolize the area.
cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vard%C3%B8

Svalbard
Svalbard is a group of islands which lies far north of the Arctic circle. It had no human inhabitants until modern times. It is now under Norwegian jurisdiction. It has the northernmost permanent civilian population of any settlement in the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard

The tradition is that only those who have spent all four seasons on Svalbard are permitted to wear this bunad. cat 5

This concludes my overview of Norwegian costume. I will return to look at individual costumes in more detail.
Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.

Roman K.

email - rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:
Aagot Noss, 'Draktskikk i Aust-Telemark', Oslo, 2010
Kari-Anne Pedersen, 'Folkedrakt blir Bunad', Cappelen Damm, 2013
Bjorn Sverre hol Haugen, 'Norsk Bunadleksikon' Oslo, 2009
Kjersti Skavhaug et al, 'Norwegian Bunads', Oslo, 1991
Heidi Fossnes, 'Norges Bunader og Samiske Folkedrakter', Oslo, 1993
Ellen Scheel et al, 'Bunad-Brodering', Oslo, 1997
Janice Stewart, 'The Folk Arts of Norway', University of Wisconsin, 1953
Guvnor Traetteberg, 'Folk Costumes of Norway', Oslo, 1966, 1976
Thorbjorg Ugland, 'A Sampler of Norway's Folk Costumes', Oslo, 1996
Laila Duran, 'Scandinavian Folklore vol I - III', Sweden, 2011-2013

Hello all,
this is part three of my overview of Norway, even if I published them out of order. This will cover the west of Norway from south to north, with the exception of Hordaland, which will be the subject of my next article. This area is in shades of pink on the map below.

Category 1 – a bunad that represents a ‘final’ link’ in the development of a folk costume. This is basically an original folk costume that has taken on the function of a bunad.

Category 2 – a bunad that has a background in a particular folk costume that is out of use but not forgotten. It is generally reconstructed from first-hand knowledge. Actual old garments exist.

Category 3 – a bunad that has been reconstructed from preserved folk garments which reflect the actual time and region of the piece. Pictures and writings are used as sources in reconstruction.

Category 4 – a bunad that has been made based on random and incomplete folk material. Missing pieces have been designed to match the style of the materials.

Category 5 – a bunad that has been completely or partially ‘freely composed’. It was the 1800s bunad movement that has given these types of bunad their status.

So let us continue.

Rogaland
This is the center of Norway's petroleum industry. The name seems to be taken from that of an ancient Norse tribe that lived in this area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogaland

There is only one bunad for this province that has any historical authenticity. It is worn over the entire province. There are various local costumes, but they are all mostly made up, cat 5. I will cover them after.

Rogaland Mens Bunad
There are two men's bunads. Both are in common usage. There was a very sharp one designed in the 1920's, after various museum pieces. It features a vest of patterned brocade, and red piping on the jacket and breeches or pants.
cat 4

The second is a more recent reconstruction of an older, more colorful type of costume from the early 1800s. It was designed in 1986.
cat 3

Rogaland Womens Bunad
There is one bunad, but it comes in several variations. The caps and shawls are copies of actual old garments. As several of them were found, the embroidery of any of them may be used. These variants are named for the districts in which they were found. The same embroidery is copied onto the aprons and pockets. The bodice is of silk damask or brocade, and can be one of many colors. It may be waistlength or have a gathered peplum. The skirts are plain, but may be black, blue, or green. The caps may be trimmed with lace, and sometimes a small tulle scarf is worn over them, with a bow in back.
cat 4

Here is a map which shows where the original shawls and caps were found.

A quick view of the various embroidery patterns.

Bjerkreim

Frafjord

Bokn

Jelsa

Erfjord
The woman on the left is wearing the Erfjord embroidery. The one on the right has Tjelmeland.

Loland

Tjelmeland

In recent years, more embroidered shawls have come to light, and those designs are also used.

There are also several composed drakts that exist in Rogaland, all cat 5.

Åsestakken
This is not linked with any particular part of Rogaland. cat 5

Lund
This municipality is in the southeast, on the border with West Agder. The bunad was a free composition which was finished in 1998. cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lund,_Norway

Egersund or Eigersund
This municipality is north and west of Lund. It has two costumes, both cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eigersund

Jaeren

This is a district just south of the capitol, towards the center of the province. This district has two costumes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A6ren
This bunad was presented in 1980
cat 5

This one is called the Karen and Knud drakt, for women and men, respectively. Presented in 1982 and 1993. cat 5

Sandnes

This is a municipality just south of Stavanger. The bunad is called Leirfivel. cat 5

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandnes

Stavanger

This city is the center of administration for Rogaland.

They have two different bunads, both cat 5

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stavanger

Liljedrakt

Annedrakt

Haugesund

This municipality is in the northwest of Rogaland, on the coast. This was designed in 2001 and is meant to symbolize the history of the area. cat 5

Karmøy

This is an island and municipality off the northwest coast of Rogaland. The bunad was a free composition in 1984. The mens bunad was designed later. both are cat 5

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karm%C3%B8y

Hordaland

This is the most complex province in terms of folk costume. In Hordaland are three bunads which are category one, living traditions down to the present day, as well as many that are reconstructed and a couple which were designed. I will devote a separate article to this province.

Sogn and Fjordane
This province is home to two Unesco world heritage sites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sogn_og_Fjordane

There are three districts in this province, each of which has basically one bunad. Going from south to north.

Sogn

By 1900, folk costumes were no longer worn in Sogn, however, there was a wealth of preserved garments which enabled the reconstruction of the bunad in various forms. These include those for married women, unmarried girls and children as well as those for everyday and formal occasions. Married women wore a white headdress, which they continued to wear even after they gave up the rest of the costume.

The Inner and Middle Sogn Womens bunad.
This was revived in the early 1900s. A green silk blouse could also be worn under the bodice by married women.
cat 4

This woman is wearing the green blouse, but has omitted the headdress, which is incorrect.

This girl is unmarried according to her bunad. Unmarried girls wear headbands or kerchiefs.

Both married women and unmarried girls could wear a plastron under the bodice for more formal occasions.

Recently a reconstructed bunad has been released for Inner and Middle Sogn. It does not differ that much, but offers more options. The same rules apply for married vs unmarried women for the headdress, but unmarried girls may wear a jacket under the bodice. Little girls wear a bonnet.
cat 3

Mens bunad from Sogn

This also has an early 20th cent version. cat 4

As well as a recently reconstructed version. cat 3

Brekke
This is a former municipality in Outer Sogn on the coast, which has now been combined with the municipality of Gulen. This is the only bunad which I have found from Outer Sogn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brekke

Sunnfjord
There is one bunad for this district, with a few variants. There was much material available to reconstruct this bunad. A new reconstruction was done recently, but it did little except make more variety available and change minor details. One notable detail is that unmarried girls have red piping on their hats, but married women have black. This is a detail that one has to look closely to see.
old bunad cat 4, reconstructed cat 3

Good image, but this woman is wearing a cap of the wrong shape.

Here you can see the red edging on the girls' caps.

Nordfjord
There is only one bunad for Nordfjord, but it has many variants. The original bunad was launched in 1927. There was an attempt to revise the bunad in 1947, but after doing research, the committee found little that needed changing. A variety of apron, pocket and shirt embroideries exist. cat 4

Møre and Romsdal
The name of this province was controverted for quite a long time. The three districts in this province each have more ties to the next province over rather than to each other. This is evident in the costumes, Sunnmore to Nordfjord, Romsdal to Oppland, and Nordmore to South Trondelag.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B8re_og_Romsdal

Sunnmøre
Bunads for this district were designed in the 1920's, copying embroidery from old bodices and aprons. They are all of the livkjol type, with differing embroideries from different municipalites. Refer to the map above to find their locations. There were apparently costumes worn within living memory at the time, but they were too plain to be adopted. Recently there has also been a reconstructed bunad.

Mens Bunad
There is a bunad from the 1920s
cat 4

There is also a more recently reconstructed bunad
cat 3

Reconstructed Sunnmøre bunad
cat 3

Inner and north Sunnmøre
These are all variants of the same bunad, each based on a different old apron which was found and copied in various locations. The cap may be worn with or without the kerchief. The married womens kerchief is embroidered all in black, while the unmarried girls' kerchief is embroidered in various colors. A silk scarf is worn around the base of the kerchief. I will start in the north and work clockwise around.
cat 5

Skodje

Ørskog
This is the most famous version of this bunad, because it has been worn by the royal family. There were two different groups which designed the bunad, one in Oslo, and the other in Sunnmøre itself. The embroidery on the bodice differs, likely the Oslo group copied a different bodice.

Oslo variant

Sunnmøre variant

Norddal

Stranda

Sykkylven I

Sykkylven II

Hjørundfjord
This was a former municipality which was located around the fjord of the same name. It now forms the eastern part of the municipality of Ørsta. In the first image it is on the left.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hj%C3%B8rundfjord

Ørsta bunad
This is for the village of Ørsta and the former municipality of that name, which forms the eastern part of the current municipality. This bunad differs in that there is no apron, and the embroidery is done on the skirt instead. cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98rsta

South and Outer Sunnmøre
This bunad differs in the bodice, which is made of a brocade material with a different cut. The brocade is orange on one side and red on the other. Either side may be worn facing out. There are two variants, one from Dalsfjord which is used for all of south Sunnmøre, and one from Vigra which is used for outer Sunnmøre.

Dalsfjord
This was a former municipality found around the fjord of the same name. It now forms the western part of Volda municipality. The apron embroidery is similar to that of neighboring Nordfjord. cat 5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalsfjord,_M%C3%B8re_og_Romsdal

Vigra
Vigra is an island and a former municipality on the coast. It now forms the north part of the municipality of Giske. The bunad is worn all along the coast. cat 5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigra

This image shows Vigra on the left, and Dalsfjord on the right.

Romsdal
There are three basic bunads from Romsdal, which reflect different periods.
The first bunad to be presented in the 20th cent, based on very good research into 19th cent costume resembles that of western Oppland.

Rutastakk fra Romsdal
cat 3

While the rutastakk suited the pietistic mood of the 19th cent, its simplicity and quiet dark colors were not met with approval by the people of the 20th cent, who wanted a colorful, embroidered bunad. Thus research was done, and bunads were designed based on embroidered bodices from the 18th cent. There were four of these, all cat 5

Mens bunad

Bolsøy Bunad
This is the best known of the four, based on a bodice found in the former municipality of the same name, which is currently part of the municipality of Molde.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bols%C3%B8y

Vågstranda Bunad
This village is on the south bank of the Romdalsfjord, in the northwest of the municipality of Rauma.

Rødven Bunad
This village is on the Rødvenfjord, just south of where it empties into the Romsdalfjord, in the northeast of the municipality of Rauma.

Malo Bunad
This bunad was designed by Anne Malo, based on material found in the Romsdalmuseum.

Reconstructed Romsdal Bunad
This is based on the clothing of the 18th cent, and features some of the same embroideries as the 20th cent designs.
cat 3

Nordmøre
The whitework from this region is famous, and there are many designs used in the bunad. The apron may be of linen with white openwork, or of silk plaid. There are likewise two headdresses, the older is called linhatte, and is made of white linen with openwork embroidery, the more recent, from the 1800's is called piklue, and is a pointed cap made with black silk that has multicolored embroidery around the base. This bunad is worn all over the district except in the two easternmost municipalities. cat 3

Mens Bunad
There is a bunad which was designed in 1922 based on old pictures and interviews, with a brown jacket and embroidered blue vest. cat 5

There is also a reconstructed bunad, based on clothing from around the year 1800. cat 3
This can be worn with black wool knickers or natural suede knickers.

Rindal Bunad
This municipality is landlocked and lies at the eastern end of Nordmore. It borders South Trondelag on three sides, and the costume reflects this. cat 3

Aure and Hemne
Aure is in the northeast of Nordmore and Hemne in the southwest of Trondelag. The bunad is worn in both provinces. cat 3

This concludes part three. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.
Thank you for reading.

Roman K.

email - rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:
Aagot Noss, 'Draktskikk i Aust-Telemark', Oslo, 2010
Kari-Anne Pedersen, 'Folkedrakt blir Bunad', Cappelen Damm, 2013
Bjorn Sverre hol Haugen, 'Norsk Bunadleksikon' Oslo, 2009
Kjersti Skavhaug et al, 'Norwegian Bunads', Oslo, 1991
Heidi Fossnes, 'Norges Bunader og Samiske Folkedrakter', Oslo, 1993
Ellen Scheel et al, 'Bunad-Brodering', Oslo, 1997
Janice Stewart, 'The Folk Arts of Norway', University of Wisconsin, 1953
Guvnor Traetteberg, 'Folk Costumes of Norway', Oslo, 1966, 1976
Thorbjorg Ugland, 'A Sampler of Norway's Folk Costumes', Oslo, 1996

Laila Duran, 'Scandinavian Folklore vol I - III', Sweden, 2011-2013

Hello all,
Today I will cover the last province of Norway, Hordaland.
This is one of the great centers of Norwegian folk costume, having large areas in which the costume continues to be a living tradition to this day.

Hordaland is divided into five districts. It also includes the second largest city in Norway, Bergen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hordaland

The folk costumes of this province are mostly similar to each other, being of the bringeduk type, with a separate plastron. As one would expect with a living tradition, individual costumes differ in details, there being room for individual expression. There are also commonly different costumes for married women and unmarried girls, and winter vs summer. The inland areas have traditions that are still living, but many of the coastal regions have reconstructed their costumes based on a wealth of evidence.

Sunnhordland
This province is along the southern part of the coast.

Stord and Bømlo

I believe that this bunad is also worn in Sveio, as I have been unable to find any for that municipality.
cat 4

Fitjar
This municipality has a bunad similar to the others found on the coast, as well as a plain dark drakt called stasklede.
both cat 4

This image shows the bunad from Tysnes on the left, and Fitjar on the right.

Etne

This bunad is distinguished by the embroidered braces which are part of the costume, possibly holding up the skirt as they once did in Tinn. It also has a loose pocket, which most of the costumes in this province do not.
cat 4

Kvinnherad

The blue hat is worn by both married and unmarried women, and for formal occasions, the women wear a white kerchief, and unmarried girls wear a white hat. The inset tends to be plain cloth with an ornamented band at the top.
women cat 2, men cat 4

Tysnes

cat 3

Midhordland
This consists of the center part of the coast, around the city of Bergen.

Fusa

The bunad as worn today is a reconstruction of the clothing worn in the early to mid 1800s. The blue cap was worn by both girls and women, but women wore the white kerchief over it for formal occasions. This municipality is just across the fjord from Kvinnherad, so there are similarities. It is somewhat short waisted, and a variety of aprons are used.
cat 3

Samnanger
cat 4

Os
The reconstructed bunad of Os represents the mid 1800s, cat 3

This is the way that unmarried girls dressed their hair. Hair was never worn loose in public except on her wedding day.

The bunad as redesigned in the early 20th cent. cat 4

Austevoll
The hair in all of these areas that have strong memories of tradition was put up in braids or twists, covered by a linen cap, and the headdress worn on top in such a way that none of the hair was visible. A kerchief is worn over the cap for formal occasions, with white embroidery for unmarried girls and black embroidery for married women. Men would wear an embroidered linen scarf on such occasions.
woman cat 3, men cat 4

Sotra
This is an island north of Austevoll, which consists of the municipalities of Sund and Fjell. Married women wear a green vest with red sleeves, and unmarried girls wear the opposite. Both wear the black winter bunad.
cat 4

Askøy

This municipality consists of an island group northeast of Stord and northwest of the current municipality of Bergen.
cat 4

Laksevåg

This was a former municipality which has been combined with a few others into the municipality of Bergen. It is now a borough of the Bergen Municipality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laksev%C3%A5g

The bunad is cat 4

The woman on the left is from Laksevag, the woman on the right is from Os.

Fana
This was a former municipality which is also now a borough of the municipality of Bergen. It consists of the entire southern part of the current Bergen Municipality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fana

The folk costume - bunad of this area has never ceased being a living tradition. The married women's costume is distinguished by the kerchief over the head rail, while unmarried girls wear a headband. The girls' bodice is edged in blue, while the women's is green or patterned silk. The apron features open work of many kinds, hardangersom, crochet, and other techniques are used. The apron may also be of printed cloth, however it always has a notched or toothed edge, unlike the other regions of Hordaland. The men wear two vests, one over the other.
cat 1

Bergen City
The city itself has two designed drakts of the livkjol type. They are the only such costumes in Hordaland.

Bergendrakt
The embroidery was taken from an old shawl. This embroidery was applied to the whole costume. On the skirt the embroidery was not altered to fit, but simply executed in L shapes around the hem. There is no apron. As Bergen is a major city, this drakt is very popular.
cat 5

Much less well known is the Bjørgvindrakt
cat 5

Nordhordland

There is one man's bunad for Nordhordland
cat 4

Outer Nordhordland
There is a recently reconstructed bunad with a green jacket inside the bodice. The girls' hair is wrapped in ribbons and then wound around the top of the head. Married women wear a bag shaped kerchief.
cat 3

This girl is wearing her hair incorrectly, loose under a fake hair roll.

There is also a version of the bunad which was designed in the early 20th cent.
cat 4

Osterøy

This is very similar to the previous bunad, but there is a padded roll under the women's headdress, and the pleated skirt has a green hem, as in Voss.
cat 4

Masfjorden

There is a version of this bunad which was designed in the 1970s.
cat 4

There is also a more recently reconstructed version which differs little.
cat 3

Voss

Both of the inland costumes represent unbroken living traditions. Voss has separate bunads for marrried women and single girls. It also has a summer and winter bunad, which is very common for Hordaland. Married women have a deep green hem on the skirt edged with silver lace, while unmarried girls have three narrow black velvet bands. Married women also wear the headpiece. There are two types of jacket worn with this bunad, one which shows the stomacher, the bringeduk, and one which closes down the middle.
women cat 1, men cat 4

Hardanger
The district of Hardanger is generally considered to have one bunad, which is a living tradition. There is a great deal of variety in the ornamentation of the bodice inset, both beadwork and embroidery. Previously the bodice was of many colors and materials, but under the influence of the National Bunad, it is almost always red today. The white apron with hardangersom is worn for formal occasions, but other aprons are worn as well. There is also a winter bunad here, as is the case in the rest of Hordaland. I will cover some of the distinctions between the regions, which do not always follow the municipalities. Generally, most of the images which are just labelled Hardanger are from Ullensvang or Sorfjorden, or are of the old National costume.
women cat 1, men cat 4

Ulvik, Eidfjord and Granvin
The women's bunad is distinct in a couple of different ways. Firstly, the bodice opening does not have a notch, but extends smoothly from the closure to the neck, similar to the Voss bunad. Secondly, the married women wear a different headpiece, consisting of a kerchief worn over a head rail, somewhat similar to that of Fana. Both summer and winter bunads are shown in the following images. The men's bunad varies, that of Granvin and Ulvik each being distinct, and that of Eidfjord being shared with Ullensvang and Sorfjorden.

Ulvik

Granvin

Eidfjord

The western regions have a woman's headdress that is similar from one to another, but of a somewhat different shape. It is finely pleated and starched to obtain its distinctive form. The men of Ullensvang and Sorfjorden wear the same bunad as they do in Eidfjord. The men of Kvam and Jondal each have a distinct bunad. In Torvikbygd the mean wear the Jondal bunad, even though the town is in Kvam.

Ullensvang

In this photo, the headdress does not have the fold which is found in the versions further west. I have only found one photo of this exact type of headdress, so I am not certain if this is an actual distinction. The man is wearing the red 'bridegroom's jacket'.

Kvam.
In Kvam the headdress has the fold by the temples, but the headdress itself is a somewhat different shape, being higher and rounder in front. You will sometimes see women from Kvam wearing the more general headdress though. The men wear a distinct bunad with a green vest and patterned stockings.

Jondal
The women's costume is very close to that of Sorfjorden, differing only in minor details. There is only one band hanging from the belt. In the above regions there usually tend to be two. The man's bunad is distinct, and is also worn in Torvikbygd.

Sørfjorden

This means south fjord, and refers to a side fjord which extends to the south from the main Hardangerfjord. The area around this fjord is home to the classic version of the Hardanger bunad and folk costume. It includes the northernwestern parts of Ullensvang and Odda municipalities.
Married women wear the flat top version of the headdress, as they do in Jondal, and which is often seen in other parts of Hardanger as well. They may also wear three bands hanging from the belt with the formal costume. Unmarried girls wear their hair in braids, and may wrap them with ribbons and put them up. Little girls wear a bonnet. The bodice and jacket both have the notch in front, as do all of the western variants. The bodice may be of many materials or colors. The plastron, or bodice inset has hundreds of different designs, executed in either beadwork, applique, or embroidery of various kinds, or in a combination of techniques. My next article will be an overview of different types of insets. The blouses may have Hardanger embroidery, other whitework, or blackwork.

Røldal

This is a former municipality which currently makes up the southeastern part of Odda municipality. It was originally part of Suldal parish, which lies further down the same valley and which today is in Rogaland. The bunad is distinct. cat 4

Nasjonal or National bunad

This was popular at the beginning of the 20th century, especially in areas which had not yet developed or reconstructed their own bunads. It is a simplified form of the Hardanger bunad, using simplified beadwork for the inset, a red bodice to reflect the national flag, and a beaded version of the little girls' bonnet for all women.

This concludes my overview of Norwegian costume. I will certainly do more articles on individual subjects in Norway in the future as well.
Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.

Roman K

email:rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:
Source Material:
Aagot Noss, 'Draktskikk i Aust-Telemark', Oslo, 2010
Kari-Anne Pedersen, 'Folkedrakt blir Bunad', Cappelen Damm, 2013
Bjorn Sverre hol Haugen, 'Norsk Bunadleksikon' Oslo, 2009
Kjersti Skavhaug et al, 'Norwegian Bunads', Oslo, 1991
Heidi Fossnes, 'Norges Bunader og Samiske Folkedrakter', Oslo, 1993
Ellen Scheel et al, 'Bunad-Brodering', Oslo, 1997
Janice Stewart, 'The Folk Arts of Norway', University of Wisconsin, 1953
Guvnor Traetteberg, 'Folk Costumes of Norway', Oslo, 1966, 1976
Thorbjorg Ugland, 'A Sampler of Norway's Folk Costumes', Oslo, 1996

Laila Duran, 'Scandinavian Folklore vol I - III', Sweden, 2011-2013

Laila Duran, 'Populaere Bunader', 2014

Hello all,
Today I will be talking about the bodice inset for the folk costume of Hardanger and Hordaland. This is also called plastron, stomacher, bringeduk, brystduk, brustklut, and other names besides. It is one of the two major focuses of ornament/embroidery for this costume, the other being the whitework on the shirts and aprons, hardangersom. Recently, one usually sees some variant of the design shown above, red cloth with black velvet edge, ornamented with seed beads and bugle beads in a design of one full and two half white eight pointed stars within diamond shaped outlines. Here are some more examples.

However, if one takes a look at old pieces in museums, family collections and more recent publications, one can see that many different designs and techniques were used as ornamentation. These have never actually died out in the region. Now there is more interest in using and showing the variety of different designs. I have found literally hundreds of them, and will share some of the more interesting ones with you today. The vast majority I found online at the website Digitalt Museum.no from Norway which displays a vast number of museum pieces. Most of these are from the Hardanger og Voss Museum.

http://digitaltmuseum.no/

I will present these by technique, as best I can, but techniques were often combined.

I greatly encourage you to use these, either when making your Hardanger costume or for any other purpose such as pillows, household linens, or some other project.

I found so many cross stitched designs that I will cover them in a separate article.

Note also that while every piece has an ornamental edge, the material used varies quite a bit.

None

Sometimes they did not bother with ornamentation other than a border. This first one has a tarnished piece of silver lace.

Beadwork

There are three different techniques that use beads.
The first is the same combination of bugle beads and seed beads arranged in different patterns. Hearts are popular.

Bead Netting

Another technique is to string seed beads together in a netting and then sew the result onto the breastpiece. They may be strung diagonally or horizontally and vertically.

Applique
Beadwork may be combined with applique of cloth and/or ribbon.

Seed Beads
Another technique is to sew seed beads onto cloth in a pattern, with each bead forming a pixel of the design.

Sometimes they are combined with cross stitch.

Embroidery
There are three main embroidery techniques that are used; darning stitch, counted satin stitch, and cross stitch. Brick stitch, chain stitch and others were also used, but not as frequently. These techniques were often combined. If you decide to replicate any of these designs, do not be too literal as to color. These pieces are old, and some of the colors are faded, Colors do not all fade at the same rate or in the same way.

Other
Here are a few pieces done in unusual techniques, or combination of techniques. I think that some of these are quite striking.

free stitching

Outline or Holbein stitch combinations

Brick stitch

Darning stitch

This is a very old technique and is very widespread. Married women in Hordaland often embroider their shirts in black darning stitch. The darning stitch embroidery on the breastpieces is usually red. Sometimes this technique is used alone, as in these examples. These are very old designs which can be found in many other places.

Other times the designs are infilled with other colors, as in these examples.

Some of these bear a remarkable resemblance to Ukrainian nyzynka designs. This is just another indication of how long this technique has been around.

Some of these designs form complex webs.

Black 'stars' form a major motif in many of these designs.

Some designs consist of horizontal stripes which are in contrasting colors.

These stripes can also be just rows of diamonds or zigzags.

The darning stitch could be used to make a network, with the diamonds filled in with satin stitch.

A very common design has a green and yellow checkerboard in every other diamond.

The darning stitch zigzag or net can also be combined with cross stitch.

Counted Satin Stitch
This technique was also applied in various ways. One variation was similar to the above, but the frames of the diamonds was made not of darning stitch, but of rows of zigzagged satin stitch.

By reducing the zigzag lines to one, these become area designs, mostly featuring the eight pointed star.

If the diagonal lines are completely removed, this creates a different effect in these area designs. These can be combined with cross stitch.

A different effect is produced by making every other star larger, they thus become contiguous, and smaller stars are placed in between.

Small rectangular blocks executed in satin stitch form part or all of the design in some of the pieces.

One popular design has stars alternating with a checkerboard design, all executed in satin stitch within a border of cross stitch.

Another common technique is to embroider satin stitch triangles onto red cloth, and build up various designs in this manner. This is often combined with other techniques, applique, beadwork, or cross stitch. This results in a unique effect, although from the state of many of these pieces, the result is not very durable.

The last satin stitch technique which I have found consists of one large star as the central focus, with two or more half stars around it. This composition is very similar to the beaded plastrons which I showed at the beginning of this article. These were the precursers to the beaded bringeduk. I admit to finding these to be more attractive. There is a wide variation in the distribution of colors in these designs.

White stars

Red star with striped center in the points.

Red star with green centers in the points. Notice that the diagonal bars are executed in different colors.

I will cover cross stitched designs in my next article.

Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. I strongly encourage you to use these designs. Bring a touch of Hardanger into your homes. Use them on wall hangings, clothing, pillows, etc. Help keep these beautiful designs alive.

Roman K

email; rkozakand@aol.com

Hello all,
This is a continuation of my last article on bodice insets from Hardanger and Hordaland. The image above is a bringeduk which I made for my friend Lorraine's Hardanger costume. I got the design from Heidi Fossnes' book 'Norges Bunader og Samiske Folkedrakter'.
When I was researching brustkluts online at the Norwegian digitalt Museum, I found more specimens executed in cross stitch than any other technique.
If you decide to copy any of these designs, remember that at least some of the colors may be faded, and feel free to adjust them accordingly.

I will now show some of the images which I found, with some attempt to sort them into categories.

3 Star designs

Many are of the basic design that I call three star, like the one above, from which the beaded designs were developed. Quite a few have the stars white, like the one above.

These are also sometimes executed on a red background, as, in fact, is true of all the various designs. This is especially effective when the stars are white or off white.

This is also executed with the stars in various other colors.

One Star designs

There are many variants of this basic design of star and diamonds. One is to emphasize one large star in the center of the design.

Starfield designs

The opposite design is also common, in which the stars are made smaller, and form an area design, generally enclosed by diamonds.

This design could have been striking. They took a band design and repeated it without making the necessary adjustments that would have made it a successful area design.

Area designs

There are other area designs which either do not include stars or in which the stars are deemphasized.

Band designs

Some designs are restricted to one band across the piece. Some of these cannot be expanded to area designs.

Cross Hatched designs

There is one group of designs which look as if they are imitating the bead netted breast pieces. These form quite a distinct group.

Modern and spot designs

There are a handful which do not easily fit into any of the above categories.

These first two show some influence from Morris designs.

Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.
I would strongly encourage you to take some of these designs and use them for any project which you would like.
Let us keep These beautiful expressions of Nordic and human culture alive.

Roman K

email: rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material
http://digitaltmuseum.no/

Hello all,
today I will attempt to give some sort of overview of the costumes of Dagestan.
The two images above show the standard men's costume for the entire area, and a group of women in the costumes of some of the various ethnic groups found there.

Dagestan is in the extreme southeast corner of Europe, on the west coast of the Caspian Sea. It is bordered on the north by Kalmykia, on the west by the Stavropol' Kraj of Russia, Chechnia and Georgia, and on the south by Azerbaijan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagestan

Daghestan,. unlike most such regions, does not have a dominant ethnic group. The word itself means 'mountain land', as does the other term for this area, 'Kohistan'. It is also unique in having few Russian settlers. Russians form a small percentage of the inhabitants. In practical terms, a coalition of Russians, Dargins and Avars forms a majority and tends to run things politically.
The capitol is Makhachkala, and this is the flag.

Dagestan is home to about 30 ethnic groups which speak languages belonging to three major language families. Here is a map showing the major languages and ethnic groups of Daghestan. The sky blue in the north, number 26, represents the Nogay, the darker blue, 25, represents the Kumyk, the very pale blue on the coast in the south, number 22, represents the Azeri. These all speak Turkic languages. The pale green in the north, number 21, represents the Russians, there is also a very small Tat enclave in the south of Dagestan . These speak Indo-European languages.

The rest of the peoples shown on the map speak languages of the Dagestan or East Caucasian language family. Only the major ones are shown here: 6 Agul, 7 Avar, 8 Dargin, 9 Lak, 10 Lezgin, 11 Rutul, 12 Tabasaran, 13 Tsakhur, 14 Chechen, 15 Ingush.
Linguistically, these languages are amazingly complex and extremely rich in consonants.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_Caucasian_languages

Information is not easy to find on these peoples, but I will present what I have. I will not cover the Russians, Chechens, Tat or Azeri, as all of these have their main population beyond the borders of Dagestan.

Men's costumes of the region are not distinguishable between the various ethnic groups. The image at the head of this article shows a man dressed in typical Caucasian garb, with beshmet and cherkesska. I will provide images of men within the groups when I have evidence that they belong there. They cannot be distinguished by appearance.

1-Turkic Peoples
The Turkic peoples have their origin in Central Asia, and migrated to this area starting about the year 1000.
Both of the ones found in Dagestan are of the Kipchak branch.
They inhabit the north and the lower altitudes along the coast.

Nogay

The Nogai are the most recent arrivals of the various peoples in this area, [not counting the Russians], They are of mixed Turkic and Mongolian stock, and traditionally lived a semi nomadic lifestyle on the steppes. They formerly lived in yurts, and are also found to the west and the north of Dagestan. They were apparently forced into Dagestan by conflicts with the Russians and the Kalmuk.They inhabit the low-lying areas in the north of Dagestan. Their symbol is the winged wolf.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogais

Two notable aspects of Nogai costume are the large circular headdress of the married women, and the short jacket which is embellished with quilting and metal ornaments.

Kumyk

The Kumyk inhabit somewhat higher ground than the Nogay, living on a plateau. They may possibly be descendants of the Khazars. They range along a significant part of the coast, and are slowly assimilating the indigenous people to the south of them. They arrived in the area earlier than the Nogay. The language is closely related to Karachay and Balkar, which are spoken further west in the Caucuses, on the southern edge of Circassia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumyks

The costume is of the basic aristocratic Caucasian type, with long skirt and overdress. A large scarf is wrapped around the head. Winged sleeves are also sometimes found. Commonly the bodice has rows of horizontal ornament. The costume is also similar to those of the Karachay and Balkar.

2-Indigenous Peoples

These inhabit a rectangular zone that consists of Central and Southern Dagestan. There are several branches of this language family. Two of these branches, the Nakh languages [Chechen, Ingush and Bats], and Khinalug, [an isolate spoken in northern Azerbaijan], are spoken outside the borders of Dagestan, although there are some Chechens who live on the Dagestani side of that border. Here is a map showing all of these various languages. Languages that are not of this family are shown in shades of gray.

These peoples fall rather naturally into 3 zones. I will cover them from north to south.

A-Northern Zone
Avar

The Avaral are one of the most widespread people of Dagestan, number 24 on the map above. The language was originally also spoken further north, but has lost ground to Kumyk. The language has various dialects, but none of them have been broken out into separate languages. They are not related to other groups in history which are called Avars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avars_(Caucasus)

There is some variation in the Avar costume, but generally it consists of pants, a loose tunic/dress, a headdress which includes a fabric tube to hold the hair, a large shawl worn over the head, and jewelry. This general type of costume is found all over both the northern and the central zones. colorful knitted boots may be worn with this.

The costume of the villages of Gochob and Tliarosh are particularly practical.

Gochob

Tliarosh

The Gidatli speak a distinct dialect. These costumes are from the villages of Tindi and Tidlib.

The bridal costume of the village of Rugudzha is spectacular.

Andi group

These languages are numbers 16 through 23 on the map above, in the northern part of this corner of Dagestan. They are Andi, Akhvakh, Bagvalal, Botlikh, Godoberi, Karata, Tindi, and Chamalal. They are found between the Chechen border and the Avar area, northeast of the Dido group languages. These and the Dido peoples are lumped in with the Avars in some sources. Be careful. I have found no information for the Godoberi or Chamalal, and very little on the Akhvakh and Karata.

Andi #17

The Andi costume is most noted for the extremely large headdress of the married women.

The young woman in the middle is a bride.

Note that the end of the headdress hangs almost to the ankles.

Botlikh, #19

Bagvalal, #18

Tindi, #22

Karata, #21

I have found only one image from this group in contemporary dress.

Akhvakh, #16

These people took part in a cultural event. At least some are Akhvakh.

Dido group

The languages in this group are Tsez, Hinukh, Bezhta, Khwarshi and Hunzib, numbers 25 to 29 on the map above. They are found in the northwest corner of Dagestan, along the Georgian border. Again I have found no material for the Hinukh or Khwarshi.

Dido or Tsez, #27

This image shows a group of Dido or Tsez as they dress today.

Bezhta, #25

Hunzib, #26

B-Central Zone

There are three peoples in this zone, each of which is often considered to be an isolate branch of the Dagestan language family. The Dargin, the Lak, and the Archi.

Archi, #7

The Archi live at the head of one valley. This language is especially complex, even by the standards of Dagestan.

Lak, #2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laks_(Caucasus)

The village of Vikhli

The village of Tsovkra

The village of Sumbaltl

This girl is from the village of Kuli

The village of Balkhar has kept its traditional clothing very strongly.

Dargin, #1

The Dargin speak Dargwa or one of four other dialects, which are sometimes separated as distinct languages, Kaitag, Itsari, Chirag, and especially Kubachi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dargwa_people

Local costumes, going roughly north to south:

Gubden

Khakhita

Khadzhalmakhi

Levashi

Zilmukmakhi

Akusha

Gapshima

Ginta

Dakhadayev district

Urary

Karatsan

Kubachi

The Kubachi speak a divergent dialect which is sometimes considered to be a separate language.

Kubachi wedding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM4TUs8DrrM

Ashty

Street dancing in Ashty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaqO648Gh_Y&nohtml5=False

C-Southern Zone

The southern zone is the land of the Lezgic languages, numbers 6 through 15 on the map above, although not all of them are spoken within the borders of Dagestan. The ones that are include Tsakhur, Rutul, Agul, Tabarasan, and Lezgin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lezgic_languages

The costumes of this zone more closely approach the standard Caucasian Costume.

Tsakhur, #14

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsakhur_language

Rutul, #12

Agul or Aghul, #6

Tabarasan, #13

This is a graceful costume. One of the most distinctive features is the loose frontal ornament of linked coins.

Lezgin, #10

The Lezgins are a relatively large group. The difficulty with researching their costume is that the tern Lezginka, which means a Lezgin woman, also refers to a dance form which is popular throughout the Caucuses and even into Russia. Many images are of various groups from various ethnicities doing this dance in flashy stage costumes. I here present what I think are more authentic images of actual Lezgin outfits.

We have now reached the southern border with Azerbaidjan. There are a few small Lezgic groups which live south of this border, but little is known about them.

I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.
Thank you for reading.

Roman K.

email:rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:
some of this material I got from a few blogs online.
Natalia Kalashnikova and Galina Pluzhnikova, 'National Costumes of the Soviet Peoples', Moscow, 1990
S. Sh. Gadzhiyeva, 'Odezhda Narodov Dagestana', Moscow, 1981
R. Gadzhikhanova, 'Dagestanskyj Kostium', Makhachkala, 2010

Hello all,
Today I will talk about one particular embroidery style from Hungary. When we think about Hungarian embroidery what usually comes to mind are the bright contrasting colors and teardrop forms of the Kalocsa or Matyo regions. This style, with its subtle tones of pink, brown, and blue that intergrade by hue stands out as very unique by comparison. In Hungarian, this type of embroidery is known as Hódmezővásárhelyi hímzés, after the town of Hódmezővásárhely, or as Kun hímzés, or Cuman embroidery.
The Cumans were one of the Turkic speaking tribes that came to power on the steppes of Eurasia in the middle ages. Their empire was broken by the Mongols, and the remnants were scattered in many places. One of the places in which they settled was Hungary, on the plains of what is now the southeast corner of the country, known as the Kunság.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuns%C3%A1g
The Cumans were also known as Polovtsi, Plavtsi, Valani, Phalagi, Valvi, Kumani, or some other version of these names. These terms all mean 'blond', and in fact, the Cumans were known for being blond and blue eyed. This has led to much speculation and confusion as to their origin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumans
In Hungarian, they were known as Kun, which just means nomad, but has now come to refer just to the Cuman people. They kept their culture for many centuries. The language died out in the mid 1700's, but the people in this region still keep the memory of their identity as Cumans.
This remnant of Cuman culture stands in stark contrast to the embroidery of the rest of Hungary.

Besides using colors that are unusual for Hungary, the shapes are also atypical, the tones being laid out in areas formed by straight lines, Vees or zigzags. The motifs are almost always floral. The stitches used are satin stitch, stem stitch and chain stitch. Today they are executed in rather fuzzy wool floss.
I here present some examples of this work. It has its own undeniable attractiveness, and I would encourage you to use some of these designs in your own projects.

Thank you for reading. I hope that you have found this to be interesting, informative and inspirational.

Roman K.

email:rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:
Lengyel, Gyorgyi, 'Nagyyanyaink Oroksege', Hungary, 1986
Lengyel, Gyorgyi, 'Nepi Kezimunkak', Hungay, 1978
Tamas Hofer, 'Hungarian Peasant Art', Budapest, 1969
Edit Fel, 'Peasant Embroidery', Budapest, 1976

Hello all,
This is a costume that I have been wondering about for many years, but I had very little information concerning it. It has recently made news in Ukraine. The photo above was taken in 1977 in the village of Krupove near Dubrovytsia in Rivne Oblast, maybe 20 miles from the current Bielorussian border. Here is another photo of what I believe are the same two women.

At first glance, this costume does not look very interesting at all. Mostly plain white, although there are some unusual features in the construction. These include a band of woven ornament low on the sleeves, and similar bands on just the outer parts of the apron, both of which are quite outside the norm for Ukrainian costume. Here is a photo of the local folklore ensemble 'Berehynia' from the same village.

In written descriptions of the costume, the women were said to look like 'fairies' because of the extremely white, fine, gauzy weave of the linen. It is this exceptionally fine and open weave which was the particular pride of the women of this region. For a long time they rejected the influence of greater ornamentation of the costume because they preferred the quality of their own cloth. This cloth is known as 'serpanka' in Ukrainian.

Underscoring the lack of color in this costume, the artists T. Kosmina and Z. Vasina published this drawing of the wedding costume of this area in 1989, apparently relying on black and white photos, as they depicted the woven ornament as a couple of gray lines.

One must remember that this clothing was all made by hand, from growing a special form of flax, preparing it to separate the fibers, spinning an even fine thread by hand, and then weaving it with precision. Thus achieving such fine, open cloth was a great accomplishment of the textile arts. Today, because this is all done by machine, we don't pay much attention to it. Headcloths 'namitky' of this type of cloth were common in many places, especially Polissia and Bukovyna. This namitka is from Chernyhiw area.

Serpanka was first mentioned in written sources in 1565. This was used in various parts of Volyn', but in the mid 20th century, this was the only region in which the entire costume was sometimes made of serpanka, with the exception of footcloths and men's pants.

In the last few years an organization which calls itself 'Legends of Volyn'', founded by Volodymyr Dziobak in the city of Radyvyliw went to the villages around Dubrovytsia and learned how to make serpanka. At this time they no longer made it, but still remembered how. [When Lidia Orel visited the villages in the 1980's the work was still done, and the aprons, at least, were commonly worn]. Part of the problem is that it required special flax, which was no longer available in the area. Mr. Dziobak was able to obtain it from France, and his organization was able to reconstruct both the serpanka and the costume. With this accomplishment, they applied to Unesco to declare Volynian Serpanka a nonmaterial heritage of humanity. There is some controversy about this, the villages around Dubrovytsia claim that it should be called Polissian, and not Volynian.

Here is an example of this cloth.

One length of this is ready to be worn as a namitka. Another length is made into the chemise, the sleeves being made of the ends and thus showing the woven ornament low on the sleeves, which are only as wide as this cloth. Another length is made into the apron, of three widths of this cloth. The two woven bands on the lower edge of the outside two fields, and the center plain white. The skirt sometimes had the woven ornament in the back up by the waistband. Here are the costumes as reconstructed by this group, including one modern dress made of the same material.

This is Volodymr Dziobek, who led this project, and the girls who did the actual weaving.

Natalia Pukha

Iryna Chuchman

Here are some more photographs of this cloth and costume.

Thank you for reading, I hope that you found this to be interesting and informative.

Roman K.

A video showing a presentation of this cloth and costume, including folk songs from this region.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQcdAyn5edA&nohtml5=False

A newsreel of this project from Ukraine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZwjFG5sGqU&nohtml5=False

A Museum presentation of this costume and project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsFfiXNqHnI&ebc=ANyPxKpeSWpSj9TIY9O_x5RxpqNGjZandtW2Sq8iHsW1IjlBYDIVESxNY0sRqZxpbtLAisv8n5ghnZPa08idZM76MTzr9kiFSw&nohtml5=False

Photography of this costume and other things.
http://www.ladna-kobieta.com.ua/volinskij-serpanok-2/

A facebook page where you can order these weavings and costumes
https://www.facebook.com/serpanokshop/

Other source material:
Lidia Orel, 'Chariwne Vereteno', L'viw, 1990
Petro Odarchenko and Halyna Carynnyk, 'Ukrainian Folk Costumes', Toronto, 1992
T. V. Kosmina and Z. A. Vasina, 'Ukrajins'ke Vesil'ne Vbrannia', Kyjiw [Kiev], 1989
M. S. Bilal, H. H. Stel'mashchuk, 'Ukrajins'kyj Strij', L'viw, 2000

Hello all,
I am working on an overview of Bulgarian costume and I ran across a large number of embroidery designs from this one district of Samokov, so I thought I would share them with you. This is part of the cultural/ethnic region of Shopluk, which consists of the highlands of west central Bulgaria, along with neighboring regions of Serbia and Macedonia. Shope music is characterized by a fast, staccato tempo, and the dancing tends to be up in the air rather than centered towards the ground, as in much of the rest of Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian part of Shopluk consists of the city of Sofia, Sofia oblast, which is distinct, Pernik oblast and Kjustendil oblast Here is a map showing Sofia oblast within Bulgaria. The municipality of Sofia lies in the center, but is not part of it.

The Samokov district lies in the southern part of this oblast.

The womens costume consists of a chemise, a pullover outer garment with short sleeves called a Sukman, an apron, a sash, along with headdress and footwear of stockings and moccasins, which were later replaced by shoes.

This is a young married woman in festive costume.

This is an older woman in a more everyday winter costume. Note the addition of knitted arm warmers and sheepskin vest. The apron is wider and in a striped pattern of more subdued colors.

Here is the cut of the Sukman, the details of the neck opening and ornamentation will vary; the following images are from neighboring districts, but are very similar to that of the Samokov district.

Here are a couple of closeups of the sleeves. These often had red wool on the outer part with either woven ornament or embroidery. Sometimes this was replaced by ribbons or velvet.

The ornament on the rest of the sukman consists of appliqued braid and chain stitch embroidery.

This girl is wearing a white linen apron under the red wool one. This is a more recent custom.

In the beginning of the 20th cent, under the influence of western fashion, the embroidery on the chemise was sometimes replaced by lace. Here are some examples. I personally find the embroidery to be much more attractive.

The embroidery which I am presenting today is found on the chemise, on the sleeves, the hem, and the front opening.

Unusually, in this area the front opening may be flanked by applique in red cloth, with the embroidery done on that. Here are some examples. This same kind of embroidery was done on the sleeves of the Sukman, and even on the apron, if they did not use woven ornament.

The sleeves have a band design done around the hem, and often a large spot design, or more than one above that on the lower sleeve.

Many of the following are from the wonderful book published by Rossitsa Choukonova in 1957. It is clear that she planned a second volume, which unfortunately does not seem to have ever been published. Click on the images to view them larger.

The bottom hem of the chemise was always embroidered with a band design similar to, and sometimes the same as that used on the sleeve ends. The English translation on these is incorrect, these are not from skirts. Only one of these designs would be used. She embroidered multiple bands on the same piece of cloth only for demonstration purposes.

Some of the following were executed on an open canvas so as to show the stitches more clearly. This would not have been the case in the originals.

The men's shirts were embroidered on the collar, around the front opening and on the sleeves. Here are just a couple of examples of the embroidery on men's shirts.

Here are a couple of images of a man's shirt from Samokov district which was mistakenly paired with a vest from Sofia district.

Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. These designs would be very useful anywhere that you need a band or border design for your embroidery. Bring some of Traditional Bulgaria into your home.

email: rkozakand@aol.com

Source Material:

Rossitsa Choukanova: 'Bulgarian National Embroidery' vol I, Bulgarksi Khudozhnik, Sofia, 1957
M. G. Veleva, E. I. Lepatova, 'Bulgarian Folk Costumes, vol II', Sofia, 1974

Hello all,
I recently received a request as to how to tell the difference between Ukrainian Bukovyna embroidery and Romanian Bucovina embroidery. There is no straightforward answer. In the local communities, the people know which village is inhabited by which ethnicity, and they could tell you, but there are no overarching rules which always apply. Nevertheless, there are regional differences, and some of these regions are overwhelmingly of one nationality or the other, only the central region being mixed. Kolbenheier was an Austrian who traveled in Bukovyna before the fall of the empire, and recorded some designs from various regions. He made a notation of the ethnicity of each local community. I have the reprint which was done in the 1970's by the Ukrainian Women's Association of Canada, which omitted that information. Nonetheless, I will sort his prints here for you by region. There is a notable difference in style, and some can be difinitively attributed to one nation or the other. Above you see a map which shows the ethnic composition and distribution of Bukovyna under the Austrians. Ukrainians are shown in black, Romanians in white, and other ethnicities in various cross hatching. The present border crosses this region from west to east at about the center.
Here is a modern map of the same area.

I personally divide Bukovyna-Bucovina into four zones, each of which has a recognizable embroidery style.

I. Western zone.
This is inhabited by Hutsuls, who are Ukrainian. This consists of the counties of Vyzhnytsia, and the western parts of Radiwtsi and Câmpulung Moldovenesc counties. These are not really Bukovynian, but belong to the Hutsul ethnic group. Their embroidery has been influenced by that of Bukovyna, however. They sometimes have the stripes down the lower sleeve, but often do not have the contrasting band across the center. These are depicted on Kolbenheier plates 62-74

Some of the designs in these last two look more Romanian.
I have provided the contemporary Romanian names of these municipalities.

Cârlibaba

Moldoviţa

II, Southern zone
This is almost completely inhabited by Romanians. A surprising number of these are executed in just red and black. This consists of the remainder of Câmpulung Moldovenesc county, as well as the counties of Humora and Suceava. These are shown on Kolbenheier plates 1-24. I will put the contemporary Romanian names of the communities before the plates.

Dorna Candrenilor

The designs on this first one are very striking and unique.

Vatra Dornei

The two top designs on this plate could be Austrian in origin.

Iacobeni

Fundu Moldovei

Again, the top right design could be Austrian in origin.

Vama

Here the bottom left design is Hutsul.

Stulpicani

Gemenea

Capu Codrului

Băişeşti

Măzănăești

Berchişeşti

Drăgoieşti

Corlata

Stupca

The name of this village has been changed to Ciprian Porumbescu

Zahareşti

Bosanci

Udeşti

Şcheia

Stroiești

Bălăceana

Comăneşti

Pârteştii de Sus and Pârteştii de Jos

Botoşana

III. Northern zone
This is overwhelmingly inhabited by Ukrainians.
The embroidery style is dominated by large motifs, some of them rather bizarre, resembling nothing else in the area, but having some Balkan elements; asymmetry, outlines with hooks, etc. This zone consists of the counties of Vashkiwtsi, Zastawna and Kitsman. They are represented by Kolbenheier plates 45-61.

Malyi Kuchuriv Малий Кучурів

Pohorilivka Погорілівка

Vikno Вікно

Chornyi Potik Чорний Потік [Black Creek]

Onut Онут

Samushyn Самушин

Mosorivka Мосорівка

Mytkiv Митків

Bridok Брідок

Doroshivtsi Дорошівці

Tovtry Товтри

Kadubivtsi Кадубівці

Borivtsi Борівці - Kyseliv Киселів

Stavchany Ставчани

Shypyntsi Шипинці

Karapchiv Карапчів

Stara Zhadova Стара Жадова and Nova Zhadova Нова Жадова

IV Central zone

This area is ethnically mixed. The embroidery is characterized by smaller motifs. The differences in this zone between Ukrainian embroidery and Romanian embroidery are small. I will attempt to identify communities. This consists of the counties of Seret - Сере́т - Siret, Radivtsi - Радівці - Rădăuţi, Storozhynets' - Сторожинець - Storojineţ, and Chernivtsi - Чернівці́ - Cernăuți. This is covered by Kolbenheier plates 25-44.

Şerbăuţi Шербівці and Calafindeşti Калинівці

These two villages are currently on the Romanian side of the border. In 2002, the census data showed that Şerbăuţi Шербівці was 84% Romanian and 15% Ukrainian, while Calafindeşti Калинівці was 94% Romanian and 5% Ukrainian. In the 1930 census Ukrainians formed 16.8% of the district population, with most of the rest being Romanian.

Milişăuţi Мілішівці

This municipality is also currently on the Romanian side of the border. The 1930 census showed the population at 82% Romanian, 8.8% Ukrainian, 6.5% German, 1.6% Jewish, and 1.1% Russian. In the 2002 census, over 99% of the population identified themselves as Romanian.

Horodnic de Jos

Despite having an obviously Slavic name, this municipality seems to be almost completely Romanian. It is currently on the Romanian side of the border.

Horodnic de Sus

This community is also currently on the Romanian side of the border. The population is overwhelmingly Romanian, with some Roma and formerly some Germans.

Frătăuţii Vechi

This community is currently on the Romanian side of the border. It is 100% Romanian.

Bilca

This is currently on the Romanian side of the Border and is overwhelmingly Romanian.

Straja

This community is currently on the Romanian side of the border and is overwhelmingly Romanian.

Crasna - Krasnoil's'k Красноїльськ

This municipality is on the Ukrainian side of the border, and despite having a name of obviously Slavic origin, is overwhelmingly Romanian.

Kam'yanka Кам'янка In Romanian Camenca or modern - Petriceni

This is near Siret - Seret, it is currently on the Ukrainian side of the border. The population is 92% Ukrainian and 8% Romanian.

Sinăuţii de Sus - Nyzhni Synivtsi Нижні Синівці
This municipality is currently on the Ukrainian side of the border. It is inhabited by Romanians.

Tereblecea - Terebleche Тереблече

This municipality is currently on the Ukrainian side of the border. It is 62% Romanian and 34% Ukrainian.

Carapciu Karapchiv Карапчів and Prisăcăreni Prosokyryany Просокиряни

This municipality is currently on the Ukrainian side of the border. It is 91% Romanian and 8% Ukrainian.

Velykyi Kuchuriv Великий Кучурів - Cuciurul Mare and Voloca pe Derelui - Voloka Волока

These neighboring towns are currently on the Ukrainian side of the border. Velykyi Kuchuriv is overwhelmingly Ukrainian, and Voloka overwhelmingly Romanian.

Bobivtsi Бобівці - Bobeşti

This municipality is currently on the Ukrainian side of the border and is overwhelmingly Ukrainian.

Novoselytsya Новоселиця - Noua Suliță

This municipality is found on the Ukrainian side of the border, It is 55% Ukrainian and 34% Romanian.

Boian - Boyany Бояни

This municipality is on the Ukrainian side of the border. It is 92% Romanian and 8% Ukrainian.

Mahala - Магала

This municipality is on the Ukrainian side of the border. The name is from Romany, but this municipality is 92% Romanian and 6% Ukrainian.

Horecha Гореча

I was unable to find this municipality on a map, but I did find it as a district within the current boundaries of the city of Chernivtsi Чернівці. I would take this to be Ukrainian.

The following two communities I was also unable to find on the map. The author indicates that they were in the county of Chernivtsi Чернівці.

I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative.
There are some wonderful designs here. I would encourage you to take them and use them.
As to whether it is easy to tell the Ukrainian designs from the Romanian designs, I find myself still unable to formulate definitive rules. I would want more samples from central Bukovyna.

Roman K

rkozakand@aol.com

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